Gorgons
by Dellanotte
Summary: On a routine SOS response, 2 new foes far more deadly and competent than Eggman surface to wipe almost all of the established heroes and villains from the field. Those remaining must fight to survive, ready or not. Sonamy, Knuxouge, OCs, dark plot.
1. Meadows of Heaven

_Well, here it is. My first ever fanfic posted on Fanfiction. Not my best one, definitely not my first ever, but here it goes anywhoo. Ta-da!_

_Yeah, I just went and redid chapter one._

_word = A/N_

_*#= footnote, see end of ch._

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions when they finally pop up (not in this chapter.)_

Chapter 1, "Meadows of Heaven"

It was just another day of freeloading and boredom at the Thorndyke estate. Sonic was, expectedly, napping in a tree. Amy and Cream were learning how to make rock candy. Amy was finding out how impossible it is to make one with Sonic's face on it. Tails was tuning up the Cyclone when an SOS poppped up on the console.

"Sonic!" Tails called. Five seconds later, Sonic was directly behind him.

"What's up?"

"Someone's calling for help!" Tails was busy pinpointing the coordinates.

"Alright!" Sonic cried, joyful over the break in boredom. "Let's go!"

"I need five minutes to finish tuning up the Cyclone," Tails told him before he had a chance to dash off.

"Okay, I'll go ahead!" And he was going to dash off, anyway.

"What's going on?" Amy stood at the door to the garage, still wearing a pink apron.

"We got an SOS." Tails was already trying to finish on the Cyclone.

"Okay, let's go!" Yay, a chance to go off with Sonic!

"I need to finish tuning up the Cyclone," Tails said yet again. "It'll take four more minutes." Note the change in minutes.

"Okay," Amy beamed. "I'll go get the first aid kit."

"See you guys there," Sonic called.

"Do you even know where it _is_?" Chris asked, already knowing the answer.

"Tails, where is it?" Sonic instantly asked.

"It's… somewhere in Greece… Corfu*1?"

"Okay, bye!"

"There's an ocean in the way!" Chris called.

Sonic stopped dead. "O…cean?"

"Just wait five minutes," Amy scolded him. "Ella, I'm sorry I'm missing it…"

"It's alright, dear, people in danger come first," Ella beamed. "I'll show you when you come back."

"Thank you!" Amy smiled. "Do a good job on yours, Cream!"

"Okay!" Cream smiled right back. Amy ran off to find the first aid kit, the one kept on standby since something like this ALWAYS happened, and when she returned Cream pointed out that she was still wearing the apron. Laughing and slightly embarrassed, Amy removed it as Tails proclaimed that he's finished.

"Alright!" Sonic exclaimed, jumping onto the wing as our favorite monkey-suited ninja walked in with the phone.

"Master Chris, it's your mother."

"Mama?!" Chris practically dove for the phone like the unloved little so-and-so that he was I don't like him; he's annoying took the phone, and barely got his annoying little voice under control I'm serious. I don't like him before asking, "Mama?" Hello, Ive missed you too!" He listened for a minute, not his strong suit, before putting his hand over the reciever. "Mama's just arrived in town and wants me to join her for the afternoon…"

"You should go!" Sonic called from atop the Cyclone.

"Are you sure?" Chris loved his ever-elusive parents, but he hated not being included in an adventure which doesn't happen nearly as often as it should.

"Sure!" Sonic kindly insisted. "It's just an SOS; we can handle it!"

"Okay, then!" Chris beamed. "I'll see you tonight, then?"

"Yep!" Sonic smirked as Amy climbed into the cockpit, and all three waved as the glass closes. Everyone else waved, too, and they passed Chuck working on a solar panel so that more waves could be exchanged. Then, it was nothing but blue sky and green below.

_I had no way of knowing that could have been the last time…_

Some time later, not soon enough for Sonic, the Cyclone was above a Mediterranean island, Corfu. Amy is gazing out at it with shimmering eyes.

"It's beautiful," she smiled, transfixed.

Sonic glanced at her from the tail of the plane to respond, but felt a disturbingly familiar heat on his cheeks. Amy was still looking below and doesn't see, so he managed to fight it back down. _Not again! Jeez, it's just Amy!_ He looked below, finding a response to her comment. "Yeah…"

"We're coming in for a landing!" Tails announced. "The signal is coming from those ruins." As they landed, Amy clutched the first aid kit and Sonic jumps off. When the other two caught up, Sonic was standing by the entrance, looking very serious.

"Hey, guys, do you have any idea what _this_ means?" He was pointing at some gray stone structure… Both gasped. Sonic was standing before the wreck of an Egg Carrier. Turned to stone. Amy backed up a good way, eyes wide.

"Eggman's ship?" Tails asked, knocking on it gently. He pulled out a high-tech version of an etch-a-sketch, looking at the readings. "It… it's granite!" Suddenly, Amy screamed.

"Amy?!" Sonic called. She was staring down at something nearby, hands over her mouth, first aid kit at her feet where she had dropped it. Sonic zoomed over to her in an instant. "What's wrong? HUH?!"

"D-Deckoe?!" Tails choked out. "Bockoe?!" Turned to stone like their ship. Tails used his handheld again. "Granite… Like the ship…"

"What could have happened..?" Amy had finally regained her voice.

"Does this mean..?" Tails murmured.

"Huh?" Amy looked up.

"No way…" Tails continued.

"Eggman sent the SOS." Sonic said it with grim certainty.

End of Chapter 1

*1: Corfu: a Greek island with one of the oldest known Greek temples, with a pediment predominated by Gorgons. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

_So, yeah, cliffhanger and annoyingly short chapter. By contrast, the story is ridiculously long. From here, it's going to get much darker and I'll have to up the rating. So read and review; it gets better, I think._


	2. 7 Days to the Wolves

_Chapter 2 is up, hopefully more interesting than Chapter 1._

_Thank you Lord Kelvin for reviewing._

_No, I still do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions as they begin to pop up (3 in this chapter)._

Chapter 2, "Seven Days to the Wolves"

"Impossible…" Amy breathed.

"**You guys?!**" All three screamed and spun around to see a scared little Bokkun causing all cute loving fangirls to go "SQUEEE!"

"Y-you?!" Sonic stammered, then became nervous for another reason. "Are you gonna blow us up again?!"

"No!" Bokkun pouted indignantly. Then, he began sobbing, then full-blown crying. Amy glares for a moment before her maternal instincts kicked in, and she began to gently hug him. "Wah… waaaah!" He in turn sobbed into her chest.

"There, there," she whispered. "It's gonna be okay…"

"_Ames_?" Sonic asked, staring.

"Shhh…" For once, she was ignoring Sonic. "What happened?"

"E-Eggman-sama was captured! And those idiots got turned to stone protecting him! Waaah!"

"Wha-what?!" Sonic stared at this confirmation of their fears.

"They seriously got turned to stone?" Tails' tone mirrored Sonic's.

"Eggman-sama knew you idiots would come running to an SOS, so he had me wait for you… And I don't know what happened to Eggman-sama! Waaaah!"

"There, there…" Amy was now stroking the little black head. "Don't cry…"

Sonic couldn't say anything, but his expression was steadily growing more serious.

"Sonic?" Tails pleaded to his older brother. "What're we gonna do?"

Sonic suddenly became his usual self. "I guess we go save Eggyolk!"

"Re-really?" A small smile finally crept onto his face.

"Well, we came all this way, anyway…" Sonic continued, rubbing his nose.

"Alright!" Bokkun flew up, and then away. "Save him, idio~t!" And was gone.

"Whew…" Sonic sighed. "What a way to thank someone…"

"He's just a child, Sonic," Amy told him.

"Amy," Sonic began.

"Yes, Sonic?" Amy asks as sweetly as possible.

"Stay here."

"Huh?!" No more sweetness. "No way!"

Sonic just continued, as if uninterrupted. "Whatever this is, it turned those guys to stone, after wrecking Eggyolk's ship. It's too dangerous for you."

"No way!" Amy cried, stamping her foot. "I'm going too!"

"No! It's too dangerous!"

"I'm the one with the first aid kit!" Amy plucked self-same kit from the ground, brandishing it for emphasis.

Sonic promptly took it. "And now I have it."

"I didn't come all this way to do nothing!"

"That's before we knew how dangerous it is! Stay here!"

"Even if you go without me, I'll just follow you," Amy stated proudly.

"Uhmmm…" Tails tried to stand between them, twiddling his fingers.

"What?!" Both shouted, now much bigger than him.

"Eep!" He in turn seemed to shrink. "Amy can ride with me in the cyclone… It'll probably be safer, anyway…" He was shaking in his shoes as both glared him down.

"…Fine," both growled, and went ahead of him.

_Those two would be a scary couple…_ Tails thought to himself. And thus he followed, and thus they found a note left by Bokkun:

'_Follow the underground route and save Eggman-same, idiots!'_ The note promptly exploded. But, sure enough, they found a recently disturbed opening in the Grecian ruins, leading down below. It just screamed, **Go back, idiots.** So, of course, they did not. Sonic led them down in the dark, Cyclone close behind and in walker mode. It was dark, in Ancient Greek ruin décor, lit with the occasional flickering oil lamp. And yet nobody asked why. It's as if everybody expected ancient ruins to stay lit for millennia. Note: The ruins at Corfu are dated to c. 600 B.C. Even though the underground area looked even older than the above, and the lamps were lit, there was no clear sign saying **You're going to die**, and the only sounds were those of Sonic and the Cyclone's footsteps.

"Creepy…" Amy muttered.

"Yeah," Tails whispered back. They turned a corner into a wider room, lit more brightly than the halls before. It appeared empty, save for the classical ruin décor. There was a door across from them, which they quickly headed for. There was some type of diamond in the floor, corners spreading all the way to the doors and just screaming, **Evil seal!** Sonic tapped the center as he goes, with nothing happening. Tails followed quickly, clanking straight for the next door. When he got to the very center, the inscription lit up and the Cyclone froze! "Losing all power!" Tails cried. "Readings from the feet are vanishing?!"

"Tails, it's turning to stone!" Sonic called. "Bail out NOW!"

"That can't be!" Tails was still fiddling with his precious controls. "Move, Cyclone, MOVE!"

"Tails, YOU MOVE!" Amy shouted, fiddling with her seatbelt. With no other option, she smacked him out with her piko piko hammer. Sonic grabbed her and pulled her out as the whole thing turned to stone. "Sonic!"

Sonic landed, holding her bridal-style. "You okay, Ames?"

"Yeah!" She smiled, grabbing him in her patent-pending death hug. "Thanks!"

"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to hug me all the time." He set her down, so that she finally, and begrudgingly, let go. "Tails, you okay?"

He clearly wasn't. "They-the Cyclone-it… it's stone! The turned my baby to stone! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!"

"Calm down, Tails." Amy was trying her best to turn the dial down from 11. "It's gonna be okay…" And, suddenly, three trap doors opened, one per hero/heroine, complete with screaming. "Soniiiiiiiiiic!"

"What the-?!"

Tails just screamed as they fell down twisting and turning stone slides in a ridiculous manner. Cutting to the ant farm view, one could watch them passing each other and tumbling about and performing loop-de-loops and narrowly avoiding hilarious jack-in-the-boxes on the walls and passing each other as they forked this way and that ever downward. It was very fun to watch, as several noted here and there.

Meanwhile, the camera cut to the still-granite Cyclone as the wall smashed down, breaking it into so many pieces and revealing an in-tact green Chaos Emerald. A hooded figure emerged from the darkness to claim it, instantly melting back into the shadows.

"Waaah!" Sonic finally fell through the ceiling onto the hard floor of a new room. "Ouch!" He rolled into a sitting position, rubbed his head, and looked up. "Huh?" The only pathway was filled with spiked walls, pendulum blades, fire, arrows, and various other cliché and in-game obstacles. It looked very intimidating. "Huh."

Ten seconds later, he was on the other end of the corridor as the whole thing fell apart. "Nice try, guys." And thus he kept walking down the creepy Greek hell.

"Soni~ic!" A familiar, terrified voice cried.

"Tails?" He ran forward, taking a turn that found Tails running past him. He looked at where the little fox had come from, to find the most cliché boulder ever coming right at him! Sonic ran before it, scooped up Tails, and ran faster. The boulder followed them downhill, uphill, through several forks, and even through several more loop-de-loops. Sonic finally looked out at the hopefully laughing audience. "Stubborn, isn't it?"

"AAAH!" constituted Tails' opinion. Finally, they came to another empty room, and Sonic stepped to the side as the boulder, doomed from the start, continued in a straight line.

"Hah!" Sonic gloated as it slowed to a stop. And broke apart. "In your face, bou-WHAT THE?!" In the boulder, standing straight and lopsided, was a familiar figure. "DR. EGGMAN?!" Granite. "How?!"

"What IS this place?!" Tails added, looking everywhere for something. Anything besides yet another ancient ruin of a basement. Sonic had set him down, and they soon saw that this room wasn't quite like the others. There was a balcony and stair leading down from it and along the far wall, and from it emerged a figure that may have been seen before.

"And just who're you supposed to be?!" Sonic challenged.

"I am Stheno," a female voice replied. She pushed back the hood just far enough to reveal a beautiful Grecian face with stone gray eyes and lips perhaps painted coppery red. She glanced upward, and Sonic's eyes moved to follow.

As a tarnished silver light shone almost from where they'd come, and a beam hit tails solidly in the back. He stumbled forward, eyes wide.

"Tails!" Sonic called. Before he could catch him, Tails straightened on his own. Another female voice laughed, from the same direction as the light. "And who're you?!"

"I am Stheno's sister, Euryale." Her face was somewhat softer than Stheno's, but it was like comparing Trenchpolt to Maleficent. Both wore a coppery red smirk and a look of clear superiority. The excitement in their eyes grows as granite creeps up Tails' feet. Both guys are clearly horrified.

"Sonic!" Tails called, voice rising an octave.

"Tails!" Sonic's voice was panicked, but soon gave way to rage. "Stop this now!"

"I'm sorry," Stheno said innocently. "I can't."

"And neither can I." Euryale's innocence sounded, sickeningly, more convincing.

Neither seemed to care, either. Tears had formed in Tails' eyes, and Sonic couldn't do a thing as it creeped up Tails' torso like a slime mold.

"Sonic… Sonic, look!" He was pointing at the ceiling of all places. There, Sonic could see three chaos emeralds in a triangle formation, shining brightly. "That green one was powering the Cyclone… It wasn't turned to stone…"

"That's great, Tails, but it's not gonna help us—"

"Beat 'em for me, okay?" The granite was still climbing, halfway up his torso.

"Tails, you're gonna be okay!" Sonic insisted, clearly knowing it wouldn't be the case.

"Beat 'em…" Tails insisted before the granite cut off his breathing.

"Tails!" Sonic couldn't do a thing! "Tails!"

Tails mouthed one word. _Son-nic…_ Then, he was fully stone, smiling blamelessly at Sonic, with pure terror barely… just not hidden.

"**TAILS!!!**" Sonic screamed.

"Oops," Euryale chirped. "Did I do that?"

"No, sister," Stheno corrected her. "I think it was a team effort. We had to thank him for the third chaos emerald _somehow_…"

"You-you little..! You, stupid, damn..!"

"That's quite rude, you know," Euryale told him.

"Agreed," Stheno nodded, careful of her hood. "After all, if it weren't for that third one, we'd be stuck alchemizing metal into mineral."

"Yes, yes… After all, we were losing our powers for such a long time. Full rejuvenation took three."

"But now, we're back at full strength, thanks to those lovely emeralds." The green one fell to the ground, hovering before a seething, trembling Sonic.

"You can have this one to remember him, if you'd like," Euryale offered.

"Ah, yes, of course," Stheno agreed. "It was originally from your world, was it not?"

"We're at full power now, and don't need it anymore."

"Thank you for bringing it to us, all _three_ of you." Stheno loved watching mortals tremble…

Sonic's ear twitched on a certain word.

"Your friend, the girl, is still here somewhere…" Euryale mused.

"Perhaps you'd like to find her."

"Before we do?" they both finished.

"Yeah, right…" Sonic growled. "**I'm killing you both right now.**" He was so close to Dark Sonic, Werehog, whatev. He may have morphed into Scourge for all the anger he was building.

"Oh dear…" Stheno tapped he chin thoughtfully.

"That's not good."

"**HYAAAAAA!!!!**" And thus Sonic's full-scale attack began.

Meanwhile, Amy had fallen through ANOTHER trap door. Unlike the last one, she slid gently into a room far less ruined and far more beautiful than upstairs. She guessed that it was upstairs. Her sense of direction had taken a beating today. "Where am I now..?" she groaned and sighed. "I'll never find Sonic at this rate…"

"I can take you to him, actually."

"Huh?" Amy's eyes fell on a shadow that stepped from a shadow. Perhaps a black cat, Mobian like her, with eyes like tarnished blue and a black wardrobe mixing Ancient Greece and Ninjutsu. See my profile for full description. Her eyes never left Amy's as she closed the gap to three feet. "Who are you?" Amy was wary, hand itching for her hammer.

"I am Shara," she answered in a creepy calm voice. "a black leopard. Now that the enemy is fully revived, we must hurry."

"The enemy?"

"The enemy who turned Dr. Robotnik, his minions, and your friend Tails to stone."

"Tails?!" Amy screamed. She covered her mouth, eyes wide. "They couldn't have! That's a lie!"

"It's not; my condolences." Her gaze softened as much as her reply. "Now, Sonic is fighting them."

"Sonic is..?" A horrible thought crossed Amy's mind. "Does he know?"

"He was there, and could do nothing."

Amy felt a sick chill sweep through her body, settling in her spine and chest. _Sonic…_

"He is fighting now, with blind rage. The enemy has regained full power using the chaos emeralds, and will want to test it on him. That is why they haven't—"

"Sonic will defeat them!" Amy declared. "He'll make them pay for what they've done!!!" She was near tears and she knew it, just thinking about Tails.

"Do you even understand who 'they' are?" Shara already knew the answer.

Amy fought for her calm before speaking. "Will you tell me?"

Shara nodded. "They are the Gorgon sisters Stheno and Euryale. Ancient, ageless monsters too cruel to be called human, despite their faces."

"'Gorgons'?" The word was new to Amy.

"Ancient beings, thousands of years old. The ability to turn all to stone with a flick of their power, manipulation of mortals with a little more. Sonic succumbed to rage with their slightest provocation."

"Don't you DARE insult my Sonic!" Amy shouted.

"I'm not. I'm explaining their powers."

"And how exactly do you know all this anyway?" 'Shara' wasn't exactly being endearing, let alone trustworthy. She was worse than Shadow!

"I am bound to this temple to guard them until they escape and a living female helps me to resurrect."

"'Resurrect'?" That just sounded creepy.

"Yes. I can help you, if you help me escape the seal. The enemy placed this one during their own sealing."

"How long have you _been_ here?"

"Three thousand years."

"TH-THREE THOUSAND _YEARS_?!"

"Give or take. It's been a long time since I've seen Mobius."

"You're from.. _our world_?"

"In ancient times for you. I was summoned by my mistress, the goddess Artemis, who has been at war with these two since they began using their powers against nature. I fought them before, and sealed them with what became my life force by their power. My soul has bound them since."

"Whoa…" Amy softened just a little bit, although Shara clearly didn't want sympathy. "And you can help us now?"

"Yes, and I can also restore your friend."

"REALLY?!"

"In time," she nodded. "Once I have fully resurrected and regained my own power."

Amy turned fully serious. "If you can do that, I'll help you resurrect."

"Good. Thank you, that's what is necessary."

"What do I do?" Amy suddenly wondered what she'd gotten herself into.

Shara motioned the circular seal that went wall to wall. "Drop 13 drops of blood in the center, please, and place both hands on either side."

"That's creepy…"

"It's resurrection," Shara replied, dead-pan.

As the girls discussed blood rituals, Sonic was becoming all the more enraged at the fact that he couldn't hurt these two! When he managed a hit, it was like punching Mt. Rushmore! And he didn't even know what Mt. Rushmore was! And they kept talking to each other, as if to them, feigning perfect innocence!

"Come, now, is that all?" Euryale asked. "Didn't he want to avenge those below?" Yes, they were both somehow hovering above a very enraged Sonic.

"I thought so, too, Euryale… But perhaps he doesn't, if he's not even trying to hurt us?"

This was not helping Sonic's current rage. The battle continued on and on, but Sonic was losing to exhaustion. It didn't help that he not only couldn't hurt them, but he hadn't even knocked off their stupid hoods! How was he supposed to avenge Tails? It had been his last request, dammit!

"Sonic!" Amy called from just beyond the shadows of the door.

"Amy..?" Sonic turned back to the way he'd come. "Amy, get out of here, now!"

"I'm not leaving you, Sonic," she replied firmly. "Not after what happened to… _Tails!_" She had finally seen him with her own eyes, and felt that same sick chill. This time, it made residence in her stomach as she brought her hands up to cover her mouth. "Tails…" she choked in a small voice. "…no…" Tears threaten to fall.

"Amy, I…" Sonic's rage fell out through his feet. He almost expects her to start yelling that it was all his fault; why hadn't he protected Tails, like he was supposed to? He deserved to be chewed out, he knew. He'd failed in ways that couldn't be fixed.

Amy sniffled, then saw that _look_ on Sonic's face. "Sonic…" He looked like he was about to break… "Sonic, it wasn't your fault… It was those stupid Gorgon sisters there, they're the ones who did this!"

"Amy..!"

"Hm?" Stheno's interest was piqued. "How'd you know that we're Gorgons?"

Amy barely paused to consider. "From your ugly faces!"

"Oh, you little brat..!" Euryale breathed. She fired a beam right at Amy, and Sonic's usual interception was blocked by Stheno.

"AMY!!!" he screamed. Amy raised her arms for all the good it would do, only for a shimmering blue shield to block the blow. Amy's eyes widened, momentarily surprised. "Amy!" Sonic shoved past a momentarily surprised Stheno as Amy recovered, looking down at her hands. Her right hand in particular, whose glove is hiding a bandage over the index finger. It had actually worked..! "Amy!" She looked up as Sonic grabbed her shoulders; he looked shocked, concerned, perhaps amazed. "You-you're okay?! How?!"

"Sonic…" How could Amy explain this?

"My fault, although it was her choice." A black feline was emerging from the shadows beyond Amy's door.

"Who-Who are _you_?!" Sonic stared down this newcomer.

"Sonic, this is—"

"Euryale, it's the kitty." Stheno had resumed both her flight and superior air.

"Little Amy resurrected the kitty."

"Amy _what_?" Sonic looked back down at her with an expression of dumbfoundedness/ 'what did _you do_?'

"Sonic," Amy continued, "This is Shara. She's the guardian sealing Stheno and Euryale, those Gorgon sisters. She's done it as a soul for 3,000 years, and to help us she needed a living girl to resurrect her, so I did."

"You _what_?! How could you possibly—?!"

Shara stepped in for Amy's sake. "Amy shared her blood and lifeforce with me."

Sonic opened his mouth to voice his outrage, and Amy put up her hand. Her right one. Especially her index finger.

"Nothing more than a pinprick," Amy assured him.

"Thirteen drops and nothing she can't recover," Shara elaborated. "So now we are bound to a degree and she is protected from Gorgon stonework as I am—"

"_Bound?!_"

"Nothing unreasonable," Shara replied. "Sisterhood if even that. She will be fine, and is safer here than you."

"Finally, some _good_ news," Sonic sighed.

"_Good_ news?" Stheno mirrored.

"Oh dear, sister, we're slipping."

"So it seems." Stheno then fired a blast right at Sonic!

"Sonic!" Amy gasped, whirling around and taking the blast with her shield. "Phew…"

"…Thanks, Amy…" Sonic didn't seem sure how this worked.

"Sure thing!" Amy beamed. "However I can help!"

"He has a sweet girlfriend," Euryale anime-smiled.

"Agreed," Stheno beamed. "How lucky he is."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Sonic yelled for the… not even counting, okay?

"Methinks the hedgehog doth protest too much." The Mediterranean monster put on a convincing English accent.

"I find myself in perfect agreement, sister." Stheno didn't bother with accents. They had _some kind_ of ancient accent as it was. "But _now_, we can't make a target of her…"

"That's quite the annoyance… And she even revived the kitty while she was at it."

"We'll need to make sure she suffers in a different way."

"Agreed," Euryale beamed. "She's become the bigger pain." Meanwhile as they blabber…

"Sonic, we'd best retreat," Shara murmured.

"What?! No way!" His whisper didn't count as a whisper.

"I'm not even fully alive, yet," Shara explained. "The shield doesn't have full power, either. Once my power returns, I'll be able to reverse the Gorgon petrification."

"You will?!"

"Yes," Shara nodded. Amy nodded as well, for emphasis. "It is one of the gifts I have been given as their countermeasure. So for now we should pull back, since you're not able to hurt them, anyway."

That last comment smarted. "Fine, but I'm taking Tails with us."

Shara crossed her arms. "What good would that do?"

Sonic quickly searched for an excuse. "If I leave him here, they might break him or something. I'm _not_ letting that happen."

Shara shook her head. "Don't risk it. Now, the shield is only good while Amy and I are extremely close. We're practically joined at the hip until I fully resurrect."

"And how long until _that_ happens?"

"One week. At least two more until I can reverse—"

"That's it; be right back."

"Sonic—!" Amy shouted, but he'd already taken off. And was promptly hit with a beam five feet from Tails.

"Guaaaah!" He froze where he stood, barely keeping his balance.

"_**SONIC!!!**_" Amy screamed. She ran forward, tears forming before she'd even taken her first step.

"_Dammit_," Shara breathed, keeping the distance small. Even then, her eyes were on the Gorgons, and she still had yet to lose her calm. Amy had already reached Sonic, whose feet had already petrified.

"Sonic! Sonic!" Amy was crying uncontrollably, hands now on his shoulders, trembling.

"Ames, it's okay." Sonic forced himself to sound surer than he felt. AKA sure at all. He took her shoulders in turn. "It was my fault on this one. Don't worry; get Shara's strength up so you guys can fix this mess, okay? Get help, too; Knuckles or someone, don't try it on your own."

"Sonic…" Amy saw that it was up to his legs. "I won't leave you! I can't!"

"It's okay, Ames. It's up to you guys, while I'm stuck here." _Dammit, it hurts so much..!_

"Sonic, you're in pain, aren't you?!" She hugged him, crying and trembling. "I'm so sorry!" She couldn't stop crying, she couldn't.

"Amy, it's not your fault." It was at his torso. He stroked her back gently, then pushed her back, forcing himself to look strong as always.

"Sonic..! I can't let this happen to you—" He cut her off with a kiss on the lips. Her eyes widened, her cheeks burned, it was the one thing she'd always wanted, and she slipped into it. The granite reached his chest, and he broke off the kiss unable to breathe. Amy's eyes showed fresh will. "I will save you. I promise."

Sonic gave her a wink to say, _I know you will_, and she kissed him once more on the cheek as he finished petrifying. Amy couldn't look at his face then. Her knees buckled, her heart raced, and she broke down against the lifeless granite, sobbing into what was once… She sobbed all the louder.

"_Sonic_… _sonic_… **Sooonii~ic!!!**" Her sobs became full wails as she stood there, trembling, clutching the stone before her.

End of Chapter 2

_Well, is this one any better? I know chapter one seemed kinda __half-assed, and I apologize since I hate being a hypocrite. I've got up to page fifty-something on paper, so these should come out quickly between Mom's Home Improvement spree. This will also probably be the longest chapter, but I'm hopeful. I already know, but do you think that Amy will rise to the challenge or just keep sobbing at the loss of her hero? I apologize for the romance; it seemed appropriate. Anywhoo, Chapter three up by tomorrow, fortune willing! _

_Read and review, please!_


	3. No Time To Cry

_Chapter 3 is up; who'll I remove this time? _^_^

_Also, in case you didn't notice with chapter 2, I decided to screw the whole *thought* thing. Thank you Lord Kelvin for the prompt. Review, people!_

_No, I still do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions when they finally pop up (not in this chapter.) And, no, I am not going to make my disclaimer interesting. Deal with it in therapy._

Chapter 3, "No Time to Cry"

"Amy." Shara placed a hand on the sobbing girl's shoulder. Amy finally faced her, unable to face the stone she was still grasping. "We have to go."

Amy sniffled, wiping her eyes, before turning to face the Gorgons who were clearly amused. Euryale was faking a tear. "One thing first." She backed away from the stone, eyes solely on the Gorgons.

And whipped out a bazooka! "THIS IS FOR SONIC!" **Boom!** "AND TAILS!" **Boom!** "AND SHARA, WHO'S BEEN STUCK WITH YOU MONSTERS FOR THREE THOUSAND YEARS!" **Boom!** "AND EVEN DR. EGGMAN AND HIS LOUSY MACHINES! **BOOMBOOMBOOM!!!** She proceeded with an uber-rapid fire of doom and destruction that had 2 screaming Gorgons going into shock and dodging wildly as the author laughed at the principle of Unlimited Ammo. Soon, the smoky fallout was almost to the floor. As it cleared, Amy finished her speech. "But above all else, that was DEFINITELY for Sonic."

"Impressive," Shara said, seemingly unmoved. _If I hadn't come in contact with her true nature, I would have assumed her to be a weakling child._

"Impressive indeed," two voices sounded from the smoke. The Gorgon sisters floated down to the floor, revealing that they had lost nothing but their cloaks. Their figures, wrapped in stone white Grecian dresses, were perfect, if not somewhat snaky. Their claws—not nails, claws—were bronze, their showy and snaky belts were bronze, and the serpents that served as hair curved back to fall as elegant dreadlocks, all colors of metal and mocking the heroines with violent hissing. Amy was aghast, and Shara was calm.

"That was very scary indeed." It was Stheno who had broken the silence.

"Who knew such sweetness could _be_ so scary?" Euryale added.

"We have further business to attend to, but I'm sure we'll see you two again."

"In fact, we'll probably run into each other in the _very_ near future. Well, now…"

"Good-bye for now," both chorused. Both vanished into smoke, snakes nipping Tails and Sonic as they go. This, more than anything else, infuriated Amy.

"We're not done here!" she switched to her hammer.

"Dear, we're being extremely generous." Stheno sounded like an annoying adult.

"Show yourself!" Amy snarled.

"We _know_ that you can't leave Shara's side until she fully resurrects," Euryale added.

_How did they?!_ "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Don't play dumb, dear; we know."

"We've been trapped with her for millennia. How could we _not_ know?"

"Rrg…"

"Once again," Stheno continued with that _tone_, "good-bye, dear."

"We'll see you again soon enough."

Both could sense that the Gorgons had left long before the smoke would clear. Amy let still more tears, this time in utter frustration.

"Amy," Shara said, "we need to move."

"Where?" Amy furiously wiped her eyes.

"Where is your home? Where are your friends?"

"What's wrong?" Amy wiped her eyes faster, wishing the tears would stop.

"That's where they're going."

Amy instantly snapped to attention. "Station Square. America."

"Okay. We need to get outside."

"Got it." She followed Shara the way they'd come, and finally brought herself to look back at Sonic. And met his eyes, dull and lifeless and gray, and cried all the more as she ran after Shara. She wouldn't let that happen to ANYONE else. Finally, though, something had a chance to click. "Shara…"

"Yes?"

"Sonic kissed me..!"

"I know. I was there." If you are still in doubt as to Shara's personality and haven't seen my profile, think Shadow. Or better yet, _Teen Titan_'s Raven.

They took a more direct route to the surface. With stairs. Three flights of them. Pity Amy. Eventually, they found daylight. Shara's first in three thousand years, although she showed no visible elation. The sky was overcast almost to the point of twilight, and nature just felt… wrong. Amy suppressed another sick chill as Shara set up a portal. A strain for the amount of power she had right then, but they had no other way fast enough. Not anymore… The one-girl pity party ended as the grass rustled.

"We're not alone," Shara murmured, eyes on the task before her.

"If it's them," Amy growled, pulling out her hammer, "I'll…" Huge, snake-headed, skink-like lizards, even bigger than Komodo dragons, crawled out from the brush. For Amy, they were even bigger than that, and their teeth were scary sharp. "Yee!"

"A diversionary tactic," Shara growled.

"You get the portal up!" Amy called. "I'll handle these!"

"One second." Shara finally stood from her dim little circle. Amy paused, and Shara poked her on the forehead. "Think of your home, where all of your friends are. Concentrate on it." Amy closed her eyes, conjuring a scene from that morning. The kitchen. Everyone in the hangar. Waving, hopping into the still-intact Cyclone. The full mansion, as she looks back at it, flying through the sky, with Sonic and Tails. More tears burned; hasn't she cried them all, yet? "Got it. Go."

Amy sniffled yet again. "Got it." Her voice was cracking. She forced herself to be strong, as Sonic would have been. "YOU! RAAAAH!" She started smacking them all with her hammer, yelling all the way, staying close enough to defend Shara. Halfway through them, Amy was breathing hard. Even her energy had a limit.

"HEY!" A red blur crashed into the fray, punching out multiple reptiles.

"Knuckles!" Amy cried out joyfully.

"Amy..!" He just now registered that she was the only one fighting. "Where's the blue bum?" Amy just looked away, downcast in an instant. "Huh?"

"We'll explain after this." Shara hadn't even looked up. "Fight now, talk later."

"Got it!" Not a philosophy Knuckles had issues with. With his arrival, the work got much easier, went by much faster. Soon, the remaining few (emphasis on few) were scurrying back into the brush. "Phew.

"Thanks," Amy breathed. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"I sensed a strange reaction happening with three of the Chaos Emeralds. What's going on, and what weren't you telling me?"

"…" There were those tears, again… Amy couldn't say it, not now, and Knuckles looked REALLY concerned.

"You, Knuckles." Shara saw that she'd have to say it. "Have you ever heard of Gorgons?"

"No. Who are you?"

"I am Shara, former seal over the two remaining Gorgon sisters—the third and only mortal one died over 4,000 years ago—Stheno and Euryale. They are monsters who, with full strength, can effortlessly turn anything, even and especially people, to stone."

"Stone?!"

"Yes. These two have been sealed by me for 3,000 years, and finally regained full power today using three of the Chaos Emeralds. They then petrified—"

Amy forced herself to jump in. "Eggman's ship and robots, him, Tails," (Knuckles flinched visibly) "and…"

"No way..!" Knuckles breathed. Amy was clearly trembling. "They couldn't have! **Hey**!"

"AND SONIC!" Amy forced herself to scream it. "THEY TURNED SONIC TO STONE!" Tears were flowing freely yet again as she tried to wipe them away. Knuckles stared, flabbergasted, and finally looked at Shara. The leopard nodded, blue eyes cold and controlling regret.

"How could this have happened?!" Knuckles bellowed. "HIM?! These two—these Gorgons—they!

"Don't say it," Amy said softly.

"_They—!_"

"_Don't say it!_"

"They ki—!"

"SONIC ISN'T DEAD!!!" Amy screamed. "When Shara gets her power back all the way, she can save them! They aren't dead! Sonic… isn't… _dead_..!"

"You can?" Knuckles asked Shara quietly. He didn't dare to hope it was true, but relief spread all the same.

Shara nodded. "My soul has been their seal. Thanks to Amy, I am alive again, although I will need time to regain my old power as their countermeasure. Until I do so, it's as if they're all sleeping. Nothing more. The portal's ready."

"To where?" Knuckles watched the dim seal with interest.

"Station Square." Shara was already prepping it. "Because of certain people's involvement, it will be their first target."

Amy slowly went toward it, guilt showing in her eyes. "My involvement in particular?" Shara nodded, not believing in withholding painful information.

"_Huh??!_" Knuckles didn't get how _Amy_ was a key player for once…

Amy was quick to enlighten him. "I'm the one who resurrected Shara, whom they hate for very clear reasons, and I'm the one besides her who is immune to their power." She put away her hammer.

"Wha-?!" Amy could bring people back to life?! "How??"

"Because I gave some of my blood and life force. Into her seal. We have a bond now, and her power, that of a goddess, protects me now. I was only able to defend Sonic once. He was too far away the second time." She looked down, tightening her fist. "Knuckles…" Sonic had told her to get help. Knuckles' help specifically. "Please stay out of this."

"HUH?" Not expecting that, he'd been all set to say he'd help.

"I promise I'll get their three Chaos Emeralds back to you, so please don't risk getting turned to stone. I couldn't bear it if you did, too."

"Amy…" Knuckles wondered if the day had aged her several years.

"Activating the portal," Shara said. The dim seal lit up to the color of Shara's eyes, glowing around the girls.

"Stay safe, Knuckles," Amy smiled. It was a smile too grim for her features.

"Yeah, right," he replied. "I'm coming, too." He landed in the circle as light washed over all three, nothing like the Gorgon kind. They reappeared in an orb of self-same light, on the Thorndyke front lawn the size of Kansas. Luckily, they were close enough to the front door that Amy could dash ahead of the others, with Shara and Knuckles close behind.

"Amy, what point of 'stay close' can you not understand?" Shara asked. It was the closest to cross Amy had ever heard her. Knuckles gave her a questioning look, so Shara promptly explained.

"And that's how it is for a week?" Knuckles asked.

"However long it takes for me to revive. I'm building from my soul, 13 drops of blood, and enough life force to power some 13 heartbeats, so I'd say that a week is pretty good.

"When you put it like that—" Knuckles was cut off by Amy's scream. "What _now_?!" The two turned the corner to see Amy's back and a formidable-looking statue.

"E-Ella-san…" Amy stammered. No way… No…!" Then she shouted, "IS ANYBODY STILL HERE?!"

"Amy, in here." Shara was in the living room, where the TV was still running and a reporter was covering an event in downtown Station Square. Which included two Gorgons—now with wings—pandemonium, and a _lot_ of granite. "Communication stones have downgraded in three thousand years."

"Communi-whatsits?" Knuckles asked, confused. "Never mind. We need to get to the city, now!" On TV, people were being petrified as they spoke, newswoman included. The screen then resolved to static.

"Agreed," Shara nodded. "Which way?" They ran back out the door, and saw a just visible Station Square past the front lawn.

"We'll never get there in time…" Amy remembered how long Shara's portal had taken, and the Gorgons could lay waste to everything by then.

"Teleportation form 5: Trebuchet." All three seemed to launch in the air, two screaming, disappear, and land in Station Square.

"Amazing!" Amy gasped.

"Kid!" A familiar voice called. "Knucklehead! Newbie!" All three turned to see Rouge and Topaz, in full GUN uniform and gear, running up.

"Rouge the Bat!" Amy exclaimed, very happy to see her.

"Batgirl!" Knuckles looked less enthusiastic.

_With this many introductions, nothing will get accomplished_, Shara noted somewhat glumly.

"Where'd you come from?!" Rouge demanded.

"Chris' house," Amy replied.

"Greece," Shara said.

"None of your business." This speaker was Knuckles, of course.

"Huh?!" Topaz had discerned three obviously different answers.

Amy growled. "First Greece, then Chris' house. There, now where are those two?"

"I _told_ you we'd see you agai~n!" Euryale called. Yes, they were both on a rooftop, smiling. Stheno was holding a little boy by the scruff of his shirt as he petrified, screaming and crying.

"STOP IT!" Amy demanded, whipping out her bazooka. Stheno merely waggled the half-petrified child. "**Monsters!**"

"Put him down, now!" Topaz raised her gun, and Stheno dropped the child. "NO!"

"AAAAAH!" The boy fell screaming, until Rouge caught him and landed softly. "Please don't let me die," he sobbed in a small voice, an octave higher than Tails. "I don't wanna die… I don't wanna—" The petrification cut off his air, and his face was soon a frozen picture of terror. Topaz opened fire, tears screwing with her aim. Amy rapid fired as Knuckles moved to cover Rouge. She set down the frozen child, seething.

"Those bitches are going down _**so far**_," she growled as Knuckles helped her up. His eyes were shining with that same anger. Amy and Topaz had ceased fire, smoky haze covering the roof. The sisters just batted it away with bronze wings. Slight smudges on the shine betrayed their manner of survival. Now, Stheno was holding up a little girl. With a tarnished silver light charging in her free hand.

Rouge suddenly appeared in her face! "Screeeew kick!" She shouted, bringing her foot down hard. Stheno dodged, and Rouge grabbed the little girl. Stheno still had one palm full of beam. Rouge turned to protect the girl, and the beam fired as if in _The Matrix_. Clutching the girl, Rouge looked behind her when she didn't feel the impact. "**YOU KNUCKLEHEAD!!!**"

"You're welcome," Knuckles replied. They descended to the street as the granite climbed.

"No!" Amy cried, glaring daggers at the roof-perched Gorgons before hurrying over.

"Not again…" Shara had already known it was to be expected, though.

"You idiot!" Rouge wasn't done with her tirade. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Oh well, I did." Knuckles was just sitting there, stoic as could be. "Deal with it. You've got a kid with you, after all." The stone had ascended his legs, sticking him in a sitting position. Topaz came forward, repressing her tears.

"Thank you for protecting my comrade," she said, saluting him.

"You idiot!" Rouge still wasn't done. "You did it just to look cool, you macho—" Knuckles grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close, and after a couple of seconds her eyes widened. He let go before his hand froze. "You little…" She pecked him on the lips, and he petrified with a funny face. "See you around, Knucklehead." She then turned to face the Gorgon sisters.

"Ooh, I like her style," Euryale commented.

"I wonder what he told her..?" Stheno mused.

"I'll bet he _kissed her_," Euryale giggled. Rouge barely blushed, glaring.

"Hmm, that's a fun theory. So which is it, batgirl?"

_There's only one person who calls me that…_ "Topaz," Rouge snapped.

"Huh?"

"We need to focus on protecting civilians, not just fighting these two. Amy, I want for you and your friend to take all the civilians you can find and get them to safety. I'll keep these two busy."

"_Alone_?" Topaz instantly rejected the idea. "Rouge, no _way_!"

"Don't worry, Topaz, I'll be fine."

Before Topaz could continue her protest, Shara cut in. "Rouge, you're right about rescuing civilians. However, you are the one who needs to lead that operation."

"You—Shara, was it—what are you saying?" Rouge frowned deeper.

"She's right, you know." Now it was Amy's turn. "_I'm _ the one who needs to stay here."

"What're you talking about? And why're you here, anyway, instead of Sonic or the fox boy? Or even that whiny kid?"

Amy had to say it yet again. "Eggman, his ship and robots, Tails… and Sonic were all turned to stone." It was easier to say each time, but she still didn't like to. Rouge just stared at her.

"_Those two_ got Dr. Twit and the robo disaster, fox boy, and _Sonic_?" Rouge watched Amy nod. "And now the Knucklehead… But that doesn't explain why _you're_ the one to fight. By all rights, you should've been the _first_ to _go_."

"I know." Amy swallowed her lump for Rouge. "It's hard to explain, but—" Stheno lazily flicked a half-assed blast at the group, and Amy intercepted it with her shield. "I'm immune."

Rouge whistled. "How'd you manage _that_?"

"Long story, I'll explain it later; get going."

Rouge winked. "You'd better be moving when I next see you." A tear almost broke through before she ran off with Topaz and the girl, who looked about Chris' age.

"I can do more damage with my hammer," Amy whispered. "Is there a way for us to be close together and still fight?"

Shara nodded. "I can perform one transformation right now. When I do, we'll be able to fight as one."

"Transformation..?" Amy watched Shara close her eyes and become surrounded by a now-familiar light. Her form darkened completely, then shifted into that of a larger, quadruped feline. With unfurling wings. "Shara?" The light faded, and Shara was still dark, but clearly not Mobian. Her black spots still barely showed as she moved forward, picking up Amy and setting her on her back. She was barely bigger than a normal leopard, but for someone Amy's size it was like riding on a Clydesdale. Amy replaced her bazooka with her hammer as Shara pumped her spiny bat wings almost against the ground, charging forward and taking off.

"So they finally decided to attack..?" Stheno repressed a yawn.

"And it's with a large, flying kitty." Euryale watched Shara gain a higher altitude.

"Well, Shara's always been special." Stheno watched them swoop down upon them, Amy raising her hammer. The sisters effortlessly dodged, but with Shara right behind them. Amy's hammer connected with Stheno's face. For once, the evil thing went flying into her sister. Who yelps like a toy poodle.

"You've been asking for that, you psychos!" Amy shouldered her hammer, finally smiling. Or smirking like Sonic, whichev. The sisters glared, standing up from the rubble. They walked forward, betraying no sign of weakness. Euryale's snakes were hissing and spitting even more than Stheno's, to the point that one actually bit the Knuckles statue. They got to the point of being directly below a hovering Shara, who was prepped to dodge, and they fired a neon red blast! Shara dodged, and the Macy building was obliterated! "Holy cow!" Amy cried. Her smirk was gone, and Shara roared, diving forward. Amy smacked again, and the sisters glided upward, Shara followed, and it became an all-out dogfight. The sisters were double teaming, but Amy compensated with wide arcs of her hammer as Shara used tooth and claw, sometimes even her surprisingly strong black wings.

This went on for awhile, with neither side gaining much. Amy couldn't keep swinging her hammer much longer, and Shara's wings were aching. The sisters had looked better at the start of the day. Suddenly, a huge slab of granite went flying at the heroines!

Shara barely swooped out of the way, trying to glide more than flap.

"What the heck?!" Amy cried. The sisters blasted them with a neon orange beam, sending them crashing into yet another building. Amy screamed, and Shara used her wings to block the worst. Still, the impact into solid granite hurt. A lot. "Uugh… Nnn…" Amy blinked stone-heavy, burning eyelids to look up at the sisters, barely able to keep yea heavy eyelids from drooping shut.

"Ahh, that was fun," Stheno purred.

"Yes, it was…" Euryale seemed to have a light bulb moment. "Let's go home and take a bubble bath!"

"Ooh, sounds like fun! Bye for now, Shara, Amy."

"Don't worry," Euryale giggled. "We'll play again soon." The two flew off, laughing as Amy slid off into darkness. But the pain came in waves, denying her sleep. Sonic was turned to stone. So was Tails. And Knuckles. And Ella. And even Eggcreep. And countless others, not involved at all. She was lying in a pile of rubble, exhausted, sore, and hopeless. Sonic wasn't there to fight this one. She was. She, Rouge, Bokkun, maybe Cream and Cheese were perhaps the only ones from her world still there. Well, not counting Shara. Did Shara count? Amy didn't know. She didn't know if she could last until Shara could save everyone. Could _Shara_ last that long? She wasn't moving, either.

_How're we gonna get out of here..?_ As if on cue, a pair of strong arms lifted Amy, bridal-style and careful of the wounds.

"Good job, Ames."

"So-_Sonic_?!" Amy was now fighting to stay conscious. "You-you're okay?!"

"Of course I am!" Sonic smirked. Amy managed to snuggle in, hand on his. "Wish I could say the same for you…" He was looking, concerned, at Amy's vast assortment of injuries. Some superficial, some definitely not.

Shara had shifted back to her usual form, and was being supported by both Tails and Knuckles. "Sorry I couldn't tell you. I was able to save them as soon as I could shift my form, but I had to wait for the right time." She finally smiled. A small one, apologetic. "Sorry, again. We would have lost a crucial advantage if they'd overheard."

Amy was already losing consciousness. "I'll… get you… later…" Her eyes closed as she looked up at her favorite person, looking right back. _Sonic…_

End of Chapter 3

_So, is it interesting, yet? If not, please tell me. __I loved the point that Rouge brought up. Amy in Sonic X, no matter how much "promise" she has, has no business being the heroine of a fic like this. That's one of the things I love about this one, though. She's had to be, anyway. …I don't think Shara fully explained what obligations Amy's gonna have, ne? Ah well, few reprieves from here on, with that fluff being one of the last. Or is it?_

_Anywhoo, Chapter __four is following _

_Read and review, please!_


	4. The Maze

_Chapter 4__ is up; what fresh misery and misfortune await? Quite a bit, actually. _^_^

_No, I still do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions when they finally pop up (not in this chapter.) And, no, I am not going to make my disclaimer interesting. Deal with it in therapy._

Chapter 4, "The Maze"

Amy woke up in a world of soreness, covered and bandaged. Voices were far away, but there was someone sitting close by. As her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, she recognized the person as Knuckles, as unmoving as ever. Was she in a cave?

"Knuckles?" she asked, sitting up.

"He's still a statue, kid."

"What? But…" The grim reality set in for Amy that her happy ending was just a dream, and Amy felt that her heart was about to be ripped out all over again. "Where are we?"

"Underground. We came back after the evacuation and saw the last couple minutes. Good job, kid."

"It doesn't matter." Amy's voice turned hard. "They won."

"It definitely matters." Next door to Amy, Shara was sitting up, and in just as bad a condition as Amy. "Many people were saved, and the sisters were wounded. In less than a week, we won't be joined at the hip, either."

"Good… It was fun fighting with you like that, though."

"Same to you. You have promise, Amy." Even when praising, Shara was like Raven on calm mode.

"Thanks… How long have you been up?"

"Since Rouge explained that we're in a cave."

"Oh."

"And while it's just the three of us…" Rouge began, until Amy looked over at Knuckles. "He's a rock. He doesn't count. Does he?"

"Just pretend that he's asleep," Shara told her, "and you'll get the idea."

"Alright, then. You, Shara. Is it true that you can reverse that?" Rouge nodded at Knuckles meaningfully.

"Yes. Where did you hear that?"

"From him." Rouge nodded again at Knuckles.

"So that's what he did before…" Amy murmured.

"_Before_…" Rouge's voice became dark and wounded, facts or not.

"Before you kissed him." Amy had said it innocently enough, but that was clearly not what Rouge had expected her to say. She looked shocked, but quickly replaced it with a glare. "Eheheheh…"

"Next question," Rouge continued. "Why are you immune?" She was given the explanation. After another discussion about blood rituals, Rouge concluded with, "So you're like a trump card."

"That they're quite familiar with." Shara knew the full importance of that little detail.

"But still," Rouge continued. "The fact that Amy is immune to this is a huge advantage. I just wish it were Sonic, or even that Knucklehead."

Amy's annoyance mechanism went 'twik'. "It had to be a girl. I was the only girl there. Knuckles didn't even show up until Sonic was stone!"

"And arriving late couldn't protect him, huh?"

"I'll be back in awhile." Shara stood. With head-to-toe-to-tail injuries.

"How can you WALK," Rouge demanded in wonder, "no, MOVE with those injuries?"

"I'm not from these times," Shara replied. "And I need to see just how 'safe' we are."

"Suit yourself, then. Just don't get lost, 'cuz I'm not gonna come _lookin'_."

"Not a problem." Shara turned to leave.

"Oh, but there was someone who wanted to talk to you when you woke up."

Shara turned around, perhaps surprised. "Who?"

"Some human named Aubrey."

"… Understood." Some amusement perhaps sparkled in Shara's eyes before she turned and left, silent as a shadow.

"Jeez…" Rouge sighed. "That girl reminds me of Shadow." Who had not been heard from since Black Doom who assisted me in once again mashing storylines.

"She's not that bad, really." Amy still felt it necessary to defend her new friend. "At least she'll give compliments…"

"True. So how're ya feelin' kid?"

"I'm sore all over, and I've lost at least four of my friends to two Gorgon jerks today, plus an enemy who could've made himself useful."

"Right. I feel sorry for _you_, kid."

_Sonic…_

"And not just because of Sonic."

"Huh?"

"You've lost all three of your closest guys today, right? Blue, fox boy, and Knucklehead."

"Yeah…"

"Not just your unrequited crush, huh?"

"It's NOT unrequited!"

"_Oh?_" Rouge lowered her lids, smirking.

Suddenly, Amy was kind of embarrassed over the whole thing. "Uhmmm…"

"I can't _hear_ you~"

"Before he turned to stone…" Amy stumbled. "…when I was crying and apologizing and I was scared for him because it was happening to him and I was gonna lose him and…"

"Okay, I get it. I saw some people petrify myself, y'know." Rouge began to nonchalantly sip something from a bottle, acting aloof.

"Right, well, he, Sonic, he… Sonic kissed me!"

Rouge's eyes shot open, then she created a pretty bottled tea rainbow on the spot. "He- Sonic kissed you?!"

"On the lips." Rouge's folly had given her confidence.

"You're sure _you_ didn't take advantage of the situation and—"

"N-no! No, I would NEVER do that! Sonic actually… kissed me…"

"Lucky little you." Rouge began doing the big-sister nudging. "So yours actually _did_ something."

"'Mine'..?" Amy caught Rouge's quick glance at a statue. "You like Knuckles?!"

"Wah! Awa-you-you!

"Well Cream and I have been guessing about it for awhile, but to think you actually _do_…" A smile grew on Amy's lips.

"Not a word to anyone!"

"Okay."

Rouge was not convinced. "Seriously."

"A girl's love is a special thing." (Rouge: "love?" O.O.) "And I'm not going to use yours that coldly.

"Wow, you really _are_ a sweetheart. So then _how'd_ you smack the Gorgon gals around like that?" And thus the girl talk continued until Shara (and Topaz) returned.

"Better than I'd expected," Shara said, "But it _does_ need work."

"Yeah, well," Rouge said, stretching. "That's a job for tomorrow."

"Is it nighttime?" Amy couldn't tell down here. How could anyone?

"Girl," Rouge told her, "it's midnight."

"Holy COW!" Amy exclaimed.

"Which, for you, means bed." Shara didn't look very motherly, though. "Especially with those wounds."

"And YOU'RE no better!" Amy retorted.

"But I'm used to it," Shara replied. "Sleep. We have work tomorrow."

"Okay…" Amy lied down as the other three left her to sleep. Which she couldn't do. That morning, she had been making rock candy. Everyone was happy, and safe. Now, she'd lost so many, until Shara could fix them, and two enemies too strong for Sonic, let alone her, were on the loose.

No, nobody could be too strong for Sonic! They could gather the Chaos Emeralds, and Sonic could become Super Sonic! But now the enemy had three Chaos Emeralds, AND Sonic. And the mere thought of that place gave Amy the shivers. In the end, she had to try sleeping.

End of Chapter 4

_So__, am I cruel enough? I absolutely LOVED messing with Amy like that. And I'm not letting the characters talk down here, so I'm not getting whacked with a hammer._

_Sorry, not happening._

_Ah well, it only goes downhill from here! In the fun "we laugh at the characters' misery" way, not the "this writer sux" way. I hope.__ Or, maybe I'll be lazy and finish it quicker. Who knows? (I do.)_

_Anywhoo, Chapter __five up by tomorrow, fortune still willing! I'm cleaning my (#&&# room, as if I really care! _

_Read and review, please!_


	5. Not Enough

_Chapter 5__ is up; how much longer until I let this mess be fixed? Well, I know and you don't. _^_^

_And thank you, EchidnaGirl for the review; I'm glad to know someone likes this thing, and I did go back and fix chapter one. If you hated it before, please see if you like it now. If it's already in past tense when you started and there IS a footnote about Corfu, never mind since you didn't see the crappy present-tense version._

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions now that they've all popped up. Well, all the ones that matter._

Chapter 5, "Not Enough"

The battles had stretched on through weeks. Whole cities, and parts of whole cities, stood as petrified wastelands. There was no point for Shara to fix them until the Gorgons were rendered unable to petrify them again. However, it was time for Shara to be able to de-petrify people. Four people in particular. Too dangerous to return to the temple at Corfu, Shara was going to try remotely restoring them. Everyone was tense, and Amy was terrified.

Shara glowed a familiar tarnished blue, and that glow almost instantly spread to Knuckles. The rock faded grew color besides blue, and then Knuckles blinked open his eyes.

"Huh?!" His head whipped back and forth, finally standing up. "So you guys managed it."

"Welcome back, Knuckles." Amy fought back her tears. Now they could save Sonic..!

"Hey, kid," he smirked. "Hey, batgirl."

"You act as though you were _missed_, Knucklehead." Rouge's coyness was an act, though.

"_Hmm…_" Knuckles came forward, looming over her.

"What're you _doing_?" Rouge kept her cool, despite the thudding of her heart.

"You think I lost my memory of right before I was petrified?"

"_Hmm? _What on _Earth_ could you be talking about?"

"You tried to one-up me when I couldn't have retaliated."

"_Excuse me?_" Rouge maintained that coy little smirk. Until Knuckles proceeded to "one-up" her by pulling a full movie kiss, right there. "_MMF?!_" When she closed her eyes and returned both the embrace and kiss, someone started a chorus of cheers. Amy was among the loudest. Perhaps she had even started it.

"Got them." Shara's voice still made everyone freeze. By "them," she had to mean… "Teleportation Form 8, 'Lasso'." Suddenly, Sonic and Tails appeared before them, not stone, in the open space before Shara. Both looked about, scanning for familiar faces.

"SONIC!!!" Amy ran forward, full flying tackle, and he somehow managed to catch her. "Sonic! Sonic! Sonic!" It had been weeks, a full month, and she had missed him so much! He was back! He was back! Thank God he was back!

"Hey, Amy," Sonic smiled. "You guys fixed it, huh? Wait did you get in a fight?!"

"Yeah…" Amy grinned sheepishly, looking herself over with her mess of bandages. Some of them hadn't been there after Day 1. "But it's okay. Because you're back! You're all back!" Any loosening of her embrace tightened back instantly.

"Welcome back, everyone!" Chris cheered. There was even more cheering than before! And speaking of _before_…

"Huh?" Sonic had noticed that a certain echidna and a certain bat were in a surprisingly couple-ish position. In each other's arms. So of course, Sonic decided to tease them. "Hm? You two look like a _couple_…" And the way that self-same couple's eyes met, and the ensuing chuckles, caught him awkwardly in surprise. "…"

"Where's Eggman?" Shara, always practical.

"He said he'd get his _own_ rife out." Tails was joined in eye rolling.

"Ah. I was hoping to recruit him. It's not finished yet."

Sonic shrugged. "Even if he doesn't join up, we'll find a way to beat those two." And thus he flashed his famous thumbs-up. And there was always that something about Sonic that made that seem perfectly possible. A month of granite hadn't changed that at all. Amy snuggled in closer, Sonic's grip on her back tightened, and she was thankful he was alive.

Night found those two sitting together, alone, beneath the twinkling mountain sky. Amy shivered slightly in the chilly air. Her dress had taken a beating, but even then it had always been short and sleeveless…

"You cold, Ames?"

"Yeah…" Sonic pulled her closer, and her arm went around his waist.

"You know what I wanted to do when everyone wasn't looking?" Sonic asked.

"Hm?" Amy felt Sonic's lips find hers, and this time she wasted no time in being surprised. Even after they had stopped kissing, they remained in each other's arms. The warmth was beginning to make her sleepy; every day had been long, and she felt as though she could stay there forever. She wanted to. Her eyes began to close, and her neck muscles slowly relaxed.

"Amy…" Sonic whispered.

"I thought I'd lost you…" Amy murmured. "_Sonic…_"

Her room was almost pitch-black. Amy pulled up her covers as she sat up, wincing at the dull pain. It took her longer to make out the unmoving Knuckles statue. It had been a dream, _again_. It was still Day 1, Day 2, and Sonic was still frozen as granite down in that horrible temple. Amy hugged her knees, wishing that she wasn't crying every second. Still, she was. Amy called back the dream's warmth for comfort, then the warmth that had _really happened_ just the last morning. Smiling faces, comforting surroundings, the feeling that it would always be like that.

_That could have been the last time…_ That time, the tears had been slower to come. She had been crying so much, recently… _Sonic…_ It became full-blown sobs, which happened to wake up her neighbors.

"You okay, kid?" Rouge asked surprisingly softly.

"Yeah… I just—I had a dream where we saved them and I just woke up and we haven't and…" Amy's voice faded into sniffling.

"It's messed up, huh?" Rouge sounded distant.

"Yes…"

"We'll work it out." Now it was Shara. "When you've healed up enough, we'll go back for the others at Corfu."

"Right." No shivers. That was now business.

"In the meantime, go back to sleep." Shara and Rouge's nocturnal eyes watched Amy wipe her own and burrow in deep under the covers. Rouge sighed, meeting Shara's eyes.

_Some people just aren't cut out for this._

_It's too bad Amy has no choice._

The next morning, Amy was awake. And insisting that she help.

"No way, kid." Rouge had simply brushed her off. "I'm glad you wanna help, but with those injuries there's no way we're letting you move.

"But—"

"No buts. The longer you take to heal, the longer we have to wait to go get Sonic and the others. And we'll _need_ you on that mission."

"I can go right now!" Amy insisted.

"_No_, you _can't_." Rouge pulled out some rope and her police cuffs. "If you don't sit still, I will _make you_."

"_Fine_." Amy crossed her arms. "Where exactly _are _we, anyway?"

"Underground," Shara said. "Sierra Nevada Mountains. I have a safer place that we can move to, but this will do for now."

"Oh…" Did Amy have any more questions? "How many are here?" Yes.

Now it was Topaz's turn. "Since the Gorgons have left the area, we'll be moving civilians back into the city."

"But Shara _insists_ that we, who can actually fight, will be prime targets, so we need to keep a low profile. Which actually makes sense." Rouge seemed loath to admit this.

"So we're staying here?"

"We'll be moving out soon…" Topaz's communicator then went off. "Yes, this is Topaz, sir. WHAT?! Yes, sir. Yes, sir; understood, sir." She quickly hung up. "Rouge and I have been assigned with three other soldiers to work with those directly fighting the Gorgons."

"It's to be expected," Rouge said. "But that's not what the big reaction was for, was it?"

"…No…" Topaz began. "The Gorgons have turned… another place to stone."

"A _place_?" Amy didn't like the sound of that. "Where?"

"Rome." _ROME_?! "They turned the entire city to stone. Without warning."

"No way…" Amy breathed. "A whole city..?"

"How many casualties?" Rouge asked.

"The entire population, and anyone else who was there." Rome had tourism. Amy covered her mouth, horrified. Shara growled, and Rouge shared a look with Topaz.

"How many people live in Rome now?" Shara asked.

Topaz's response was miserable. "Over three million. Closer to four."

Shara's growl got that much louder. "When did humans become so numerous?"

"In the last two hundred years," Topaz groaned.

"Well then, the Gorgons will give me plenty of work," Shara sighed.

"You have no idea," a new voice sighed."

"Aubrey," Shara said. "What does that mean?"

A teenage human, female, with lapis lazuli eyes behind glasses, a spiky brown ponytail, and a short and Western-style periwinkle haori over black, was leaning against a wall, looking sad and serious, yet perfectly calm. She stuck her hands into her jean pockets as she shoved off. "It means that I know more than what Topaz was told. This is a major crisis; why send only five soldiers to help 1, 2 remaining major fighters?"

Rouge's eyes widened, as did Shara's (less visibly), but neither one stopped Aubrey. She nodded. "They've made contact with the U.N, among others. They may make demands, like last time."

"So the less any government gets involved with this right now, the better for them," Rouge sighed. Aubrey nodded. "Good thing we're underground."

"Agreed. Speaking of which, Shara. I just got back from Artemis' place. It'll be good to go with your seal."

"Good. Thank you."

"Hey, no problem. I can't promise much, but I'll do what I can." Aubrey looked over the others who clearly didn't know her. Well, besides Rouge, but it hadn't really been an introduction so much as 'Hey, could you get Shara for me?'. So now she was shaking hands with each one along with a 'Hey, I'm Aubrey.' She came to Amy last.

"I'm Amy Rose. Were you in Station Square?"

"Actually, no. I'm an old friend of Shara's, and I came here to help."

"'Old friend'?" Amy noted that Aubrey looked distinctly teenage. She may not have been too familiar with too many humans, but she was pretty sure Aubrey wasn't that old. "But Shara's been in a temple for three thousand years."

"She stayed there, and I continuously reincarnated with my memory intact; I was doing that _long_ before I met her. Actually, I'm from a neighboring dimension and I can't stay too much longer. I also can't interfere too much."

"So you can't help?" Amy's ears drooped. They _needed_ help, though.

"Too much. Hold still." Aubrey crouched to Amy's height or so, almost kneeling in front of Amy without her knees touching the ground, and placed her hands over Amy's and Shara's hearts. A lapis light rippled over both, healing all of their wounds. The bandages made neat little rolls at their feet.

"That's amazing!" Amy exclaimed, having no trouble moving. "Now we can go get the guys!" That girl had a one-track mind.

Aubrey smirked, and looked her over. "You're going to fight in that?" Amy's dress had been ravaged by war, more so than in the past. "You know that at this rate, this may drag out for awhile?"

"Uhmm…" Amy finally took the time to note that Aubrey, Rouge, Topaz, and even Shara who was ancient, were all wearing pants. Rouge had even regained her usual skintight outfit. "But it's not like I have an extra outfit…" Even at the Thorndyke mansion, she had nothing but the usual. Well, besides that ballroom gown from episode so-and-so, but that would be even worse.

Aubrey winked. "Come with me." She then led Amy into another room, one that actually had a door. Which was odd, since this was a cave… "I can perform alchemy. Big time. Like I said, this could go on for awhile, so how'd you feel about some combat duds?"

"Sounds like fun!"

Aubrey knew the intentions of this author and her fic, although her face didn't betray it. "Alright, then." _How much longer will she be able to say that?_

A minute or so later, Aubrey emerged with Amy in tow. And in better gear.

"_Ni~ice_." Rouge then whistled. Amy was outfitted in light khaki. A short-sleeve button-down and collared shirt that covered a white camisole and came down past her rear, a wide military belt over it, pants that tucked into boots, etc. The boots were sturdy as could be, but looked like they had almost moccasin bottoms. Tough, but ninja-silent for someone used to them.

"These have a 3-lifetimes of pitched combat warranty, and I made two spares. They are also machine washable." _Like you'll get the luxury._

"Wow…" Amy was looking herself over, impressed. Even though it was military-style, it hugged her body in all the right places; stealth was emphasized as much as toughness.

"Amy, let's move." Shara was ready to go. "The sisters are attacking another city."

"Which one?" Like Amy really wanted to know…

"New York," Topaz said.

"Mm…"

"Ready?" Shara asked.

"Yeah."

Aubrey made some type of 2-handed motion not chakra seals. "Teleportation form 3: 'Shadowland'." She, Amy, and Shara seemed to become silhouettes, reappearing in Shara's temple room. They left through halls and the hidden door, into halls much more ruined than before. The Gorgons had been busy, which made all three various degrees of nervous/suspicious. They were soon coming upon the room where they had fought before, and Amy had developed a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. He hand was on her hammer long before they entered. The room, unlike before, was rubble-strewn and cold.

"They're not here?!" Amy sounded her disbelief. Not Sonic, not Tails, not even Eggman. No statues amongst the rubble. "I don't believe this! Those witches took them! No!"

"Please don't call those two witches," Aubrey sighed.

"Why not?!"

"Because they're not witches. I am.

"Sorry, but I—Where are they?! Where's Sonic? Sooonic~!" she began calling.

"Be quiet," Aubrey said urgently but kindly. "Stone can't hear you, but our enemy can."

"They're in New York."

"Not forever, though. This way." Shara led them through the underground systematically and stealthily, but there was no luck to be found. Even Eggman's stuff was missing outside. "They've already moved."

"And they took everyone with them," Amy groaned. She hadn't noticed a dark look exchanged between Shara and Aubrey.

"They expected this. And us. Shara, which location do you expect?"

"Well, it was obvious that they wouldn't remain in their prison. Perhaps their old home in Libya, but more likely the Western Islands." Aubrey nodded at the last one.

"The farthest Islands in the Atlantic known by Ancient peoples on this side," Shara explained. "Off the western coast of Africa."

"Then let's go!" Amy exclaimed.

"Too risky." Aubrey had dismissed it just like that.

"We need to go fight them now," Shara reminded the little pink hedgehog.

"But—!" Amy looked past them, seeming to spot something. "They just moved Eggman's ship there..?" She went past the others into the brush, froze, and SCREAMED. Shara and Aubrey quickly hurried to where she was frozen in place. Before them was a granite graveyard, filled with "statues" created the day before. Broken apart for them to find. Amy was staring, teary-eyed, hands over her mouth, at what appeared to be Sonic's petrified head. "_**NOOOOOOOO!**_"

End of Chapter 5

_Am I evil, yet? I hope so, and I hope you're enjoying this mayhem. It'll definitely be a long one, and I'm definitely going to torment everyone. Especially Amy, who's gonna have to grow up at age 12. Read and review, please._


	6. The Pain

_Chapter __6 is up; yay, 6 of them! I wonder if I can keep uploading them on a daily basis. I hope so!_

_And thank you, EchidnaGirl and HaosBlossum for the review; I'm glad to know someone LIKES this thing, and I did go back and fix chapter one. If you hated it before, please see if you like it now. If it's already in past tense when you started and there IS a footnote about Corfu, never mind since you didn't see the crappy present-tense version._

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions now that they've all popped up. Well, all the ones that matter._

Chapter 6, "The Pain"

"Of all the…" Shara went forward as Aubrey looked away, pushing her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose. Amy broke down into sobs as Shara touched the head lightly, eyes closed. "Confirm."

"'K." Aubrey came forward as Shara stepped back to look at the ship, which was even more wrecked than before. Now, obviously as stone. Aubrey repeated Shara's exercise, except that her eyes were open and glowing a cool blue, the color of her haori*2. Both were perfectly calm, especially compared to Amy. Aubrey clicked her tongue, and Shara glanced over to watch Aubrey's fingers count down. 3, 2, 1.

"Fake," both said.

"Huh?"

"It's fake," Aubrey repeated. "It all is."

"Re-really?!" The relief in Amy's voice was thick enough to eat.

"Yes." Shara's arms were crossed. Again.

"C'mon," Aubrey said. "See if you can feel it, too."

"She shouldn't be able to," Shara said on autopilot.

"Artemis' power can be interesting." Aubrey seemed amused more than anything else. "Amy, over here."

"Oh-okay…" Amy stumbled forward, hesitantly touching the stone head, shivering. _It's not his, it's not his…_

"Feel anything?" Aubrey's voice was almost a murmur. "Focus."

"Yeah…" Amy was amazed that she really could. "Like it's a part of something really old, but it just got here…"

"Was this stone ever flesh and blood?"

"…No… No, it was never Sonic." Amy was clearly relieved. "Thank goodness…"

"Good." Aubrey turned and smirked at Shara.

Shara sighed and went to join the other two. "Amy, hold still." She touched Amy's head the way she had touched the stone one. "Artemis' power rubbed off on you through me. It's enhancing your own."

"Really..?" Amy guessed she should be pleased. "But who exactly was..?"

"A goddess of this world," Shara said simply. "Of many worlds. And of virginity, the hunt, and the moon, among others. She is my mistress." You know she means master, hentai.

"Where is she now?" Amy wondered how much help that would be!

"The ancient gods have left this world," Aubrey said simply. "Just like with me, you can't rely on their help." There was a touch of sadness in her voice.

"Oh… But those two made these fakes?"

"Yep."

"I'm going to kill them now." Amy's voice was a dangerous calm, the type that all who knew her had learned to fear.

"'K," Aubrey said simply. "Teleportation form 3, 'Shadowland'." All three appeared in a mostly stone N.Y.C. "I'm not allowed to fight, but I'll stay close in case retreat is necessary."

"Understood." Shara took her winged panther form, scooping up Amy as Aubrey took a new form as well. A sabertooth, moonlight silver, and actually the size of a horse. No wings, though. Similar body type, though. Shara took off when the sisters became visible, and Amy raised her hammer as they closed in.

"WHY YOU~!" Amy cried, smacking both as Shara continued the assault. Amy caught another glimpse of the stonework below. "Why are you doing this?!"

Stheno mock-frowned. "I really don't see how that's your business, dear…"

"You're endangering this world!" Amy nearly screamed. "Of course it's my business!"

"If you must know, then," Stheno tisked, "it's because it's fun."

"_FUN?!_"

"The feeling of their life leaving their veins,"

"Their warmth flowing from their flesh," Euryale chorused.

"Their consciousness fading away,"

"Their will giving way to cold stone,"

"All of that flowing into us then and there."

"It's a marvelous feeling that your kind probably can't comprehend," Euryale sighed.

"It's so marvelous that it's practically addicting."

Amy looked sick and horrified. Aubrey was swishing her tail and commenting dryly, "So you get high off of petrifying people."

"You could say that." Euryale sounded shameless, and aimed a petrifying blast at Aubrey. Who effortlessly dodged it as a black serpent. "_O~oh_!"

"Over here!" Amy called. **SMACK!** Like a bug.

Stheno swooped to catch her sister by the arms. "Are you injured, sister?"

"Not at all, Stheno." Amy happily noted that Stheno was lying. Shara followed the path made by Euryale, straight at both of them. Below, survivors began cheering for the heroines.

"Who is that, anyway?" An old man asked.

"Is that a Pegasus?" a little girl asked.

"No, it's a flying panther," a teenage boy replied.

"And it's that pink hedgehog!" one woman exclaimed.

"It's Amy Rose!" the girl declared.

"Isn't that one of Sonic the Hedgehog's friends?" a man with a briefcase asked.

"Yeah!" the old man agreed. "What was her name, Andy?"

"Amy!" the girl told him.

"Andy the Hedgehog!" the old guy didn't seem to have heard.

The majority of the crowd, ignoring him, began chanting, "A-my! A-my! A-my!"

"Hey, they're cheering for me!"

"They're idiots." Before Amy could say anything, Shara continued. "They need to flee."

"They-?" The Gorgons charged a blast, the tarnished silver color of a petrifier, and fired directly at the crowd. "Shara!" The people screamed, adults trying to cover children and themselves. Amy and Shara intercepted with their shield. "CUT IT **OUT**!" Amy called. The crowd cheered, Amy smiled, and then turned serious. "All of you, get out of here, NOW! It's too dangerous!"

Aubrey ran forward, as a human and crowd control. "Everyone with me!" She led the humans away as Amy turned to stare down the Gorgons.

"Those people did NOTHING to you!"

"But they weren't cheering for us," Stheno pointed out.

"It hurt our feelings." Euryale's pout wasn't meant to be convincing.

"What kinda logic is THAT?!"

"Perfect logic," both replied. They fired a neon red blast, resuming the battle. This time, Amy and Shara were maintaining the upper hand. "Oww~!"

"We have to use THAT, Stheno."

"Oh, how I dislike using THAT, Euryale. But," she sighed, "we have no other choice…"

"What're they planning NOW?" Amy groaned.

"Not sure. Be on your guard."

"Got it." Amy watched the Gorgons place 2 fingers over their foreheads, and raise the same two fingers on their other hand to above their chests.

"Instant transmission no jutsu!" Both vanished in a puff of smoke.

"They ran away?!" Amy exclaimed, dumbfounded.

On a nearby rooftop, Aubrey's expression read, 'anime blah'. "They just performed the Art of Redundant Crossover of Repetition Technique…"

"They're not playing fair!" Amy was now ranting. "We could've taken them, too…"

"Exactly," Shara sighed. The remainder of NYC was cheering. That wouldn't last long.

Explaining that they couldn't reverse this (yet) was not fun. By the time that the three got back, even Shara was wiped.

"This is horrible…" Amy groaned.

"Welcome back!" Topaz was already rushing over. "We saw your fight. Nice job!"

"It's a shame that they got away," Rouge said, not quite innocently enough for Amy.

"It's not our fault! They just up and vanished!"

"Su~ure…" Rouge's response received glares from Amy. "Yeah, we saw." Subject change. "So how went the statue recovery?" Amy buried her hands and groaned. Loudly. "Huh?"

"What happened?" Topaz asked. They told her the story. "Oh…"

"So we only have one useful lawn ornament," Rouge summarized.

"Sonic is NOT a lawn ornament!" Amy shouted.

"Yeah, well, he's about as useful as one," Rouge replied. "No, wait, he's even less useful. He's not even here."

Amy was seething. "**ROUGE**… You-you… you!

"I 'what'?"

"You…" Amy's tears were welling up. "DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO GOT TURNED TO STONE!" Amy ran off crying, leaving a stunned Rouge, abashed Topaz, thoughtful Aubrey, and calm Shara to stare.

"Rouge!" Topaz towered over her partner. More than usual.

"I didn't expect her to do _that_…" If Rouge was sorry, she wasn't showing it. Instead, she turned to Shara. "Can she actually _fight?_"

"Yes, although she still needs work."

Topaz was not finished. "You should apologize to her."

"Huh? _Me?_" Perhaps the idea was as foreign to her as she made it sound. Hopefully not.

"It couldn't hurt." Shara wore the scary calm presence that terrified mere mortals.

"… HMPH! FINE!" Rouge stalked off to find Amy hunched over on her pallet, angrily sniffling. "Hey, kid." Rouge sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I—"

"How could you say something like that?! Knuckles is stone, too, and don't you LIKE him?!"

"Yeah, well, I was trying to lighten the mood. Didn't work, huh?"

"Nope."

Meanwhile, Aubrey had gotten an idea for a sketch.

"Cruel." Shara could see it in the preliminary pencil marks, but didn't sound too opposed. "Just don't let Amy see it."

"Sure. I'll do Knuckles before showing it to Rouge."

"What exactly are you—?" Topaz looked, and struggled to stifle her laughter so that she wouldn't be a bad person. After awhile, Rouge returned rather sulkily. "Well?"

"We worked it out and she wiped out. The kid's dog tired."

"No surprises." Aubrey didn't even look up from her sketchpad. "I'd like to put her through basic training before I go."

"What?" Rouge asked. "Is she gonna be the anti-Gorgon poster child or something?" It was meant to be a joke.

"Isn't she already?" Aubrey asked. "She was a crowd pleaser in New York."

"Until the mayor found our that his precious city will remain ¾ granite for awhile," Shara reminded her.

"Is true."

"I can't believe you're still working on that." Topaz couldn't set her voice to "scold," though.

"Just the finishing touches."

"What?"

"I got the idea from you." Aubrey turned her sketchbook around to reveal a sketch of Sonic, Tails, Eggman, and Knuckles as humorously interacting lawn gnomes.

"Awawa… hmph… hmph… Hahaha, what is wrong with you, girl?!" Rouge exclaimed. "LAWN GNOMES?!"

"Well, you _said_ 'lawn ornaments.' Perhaps you meant plastic flamingoes?"

"Can you draw that, too?"

"Already did." Aubrey flipped the page, OMFGWTFF it was even worse!

"I was _JOKING_!"

"Oh well; I drew it anyway."

"What _are_ you, psychic?"

"Not really, but I predict that tomorrow will be humorous."

"What makes you say that?" Rouge asked.

The next day found several people in a strange underground room.

"_Who_ is _that_?" Rouge asked.

"Urahara Kisuke, owner of a small sweet shop. Pleased to meet you; Aubrey-san has told me about your predicament and asked my help."

Rouge gave Aubrey "the look."

"I called in a favor," she shrugged. A flashback then ensued from her ever-expanding thought bubble.

'Urahara: I don't _know_, Aubrey-san… Interdimensional interference? Training a young girl who's probably out of her league? That girl being a talking pink hedgehog? He makes a point… I just don't _kno~ow_…

Aubrey: Give me a hand here—reasonably—and I'll call it even for my assistance with the giant cauliflower incident.

Urahara: Oh my, that's a very generous offer, Aubrey-san. You're sure?

Aubrey: If you won't help, I'll just borrow your hat.

Urahara: Will I get it back?

Aubrey: Considering that Amy has a temper to terrify Ichigo, probably not.

Urahara: Hmm…' End of flashback.

"And thus he will train Amy," Aubrey concluded.

"Giant cauliflower?" Rouge asked.

"His supplier mixed up the Hidden Valley Ranch order with the psychotic growth ranch order."

"Ah."

"I still don't think I need training." Amy was clearly miffed about the whole thing.

"Until I'm fully revived, I can no longer transform. Since we can't risk our separation, we may as well ensure your combat ability—"

"I know; you've told me, I've got it. But is this guy really that great?"

Aubrey was secretly setting up a hidden camera. "He's a Shinigami."

"That's just creepy. Okay, old guy with no fashion sense, I'm ready."

Urahara showed no reproach. "Actually, you won't be facing me, first."

"Huh?" Amy watched a little girl with sparring gear step out from behind Urahara. "HUH?"

End of Chapter 6

*2: Haori: The sleeveless jacket thing that _Bleach_ Shinigami captains wear, although Aubrey's is obviously a bit different. If you still don't know, Wikipedia it.

_Yes. I am putting Amy Rose through Ichigo Kurosaki's first training regimen. What could possibly go wrong? Well, watch for chapter 7, my unlucky number. Read and review, please._

_Oh, and I know this may be a little late, but BLEACH CHAPTER 364, BABY! BUAHAHAHA! Okay, I'm done. _^_^


	7. Get Out Alive

_Huzzah for chapter 7, my unlucky number!_

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions now that they've all popped up. Well, all the ones that matter._

Chapter 7, "Get Out Alive"

"This is Ururu," Urahara smiled. "Try fighting her. Lesson one will end when one can no longer move. So just knock her out before she knocks you out, okay?"

"Pleased to meet you," Ururu said, bowing.

"Uhm…" Amy bowed a bit more awkwardly. "Likewise. But I can't fight a kid—"

"Well," Urahara mused. "I would think it'd be quite difficult considering your current level."

"What?! But—" Amy was cut off by Ururu, who tossed her a spare set of equipment.

"Here, please make sure you put those on first…" Ururu paused to take her stance. "Or you will die."

"Huh?"

"To activate it," Urahara called, suddenly much farther away, "yell at the top of your lungs, 'Take this! The power of justice! Justice armor, Justice Hachimaki! Attack!'"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"And go!" On Urahara's call, Ururu charged forward. No other option visible, Amy drew her hammer. _That's her weapon?_

"Hey," Amy called, "I'm gonna try not to hurt you—" Ururu punched, Amy dodged, and a crater formed! "AACK!"

"That's interesting…" Rouge was perched on a rock outcrop with the others.

"Isn't it?" Aubrey had gone with the visible video camera. And the fight continued for a bit. Shara and Topaz watched silently. A boy named Jinta picked his nose.

"Remember," Jinta called, to activate it's 'Take this! The power of justice! Justice armor, Justice Hachimaki! Attack!'"

"That's still _so_ STUUUPID!" Amy dodged again, constantly in greater and greater danger. She'd have to swallow her pride, and she ran through the dust and grabbed the headgear. She tucked her hammer under her arm so that she could put the plain white abomination to her forehead, vein pulsing, mouth opening to speak, and she spun around and smacked Ururu, full hammer! "I'm so sorry, are you hurt?!"

"I'm okay."

"Very nice," Urahara smiled—

"Rrg… YOU!" Amy shouted. "You were lying about that, weren't you?!"

"Urk..!" Jinta and Urahara froze.

"What are you talking about?" Urahara's mouth was behind his fan, though.

"Oh, come _on_," Amy angrily scoffed. "I don't know ANYONE stupid enough to fall for that!"

"Actually, _we_ know someone…" Jinta muttered.

"I thought Amy had _met_ Knuckles?" Rouge asked. Aubrey chuckled. That chuckle was very creepy.

"Yes, well, good job. On to the next test…" Urahara watched Jinta walk up and push Amy into a pit.

"AAH!" Amy landed with a **thunk**. "When did _this_ get here?!"

That question was answered by Tessai, also in the pit. "Before you got here. Bakudo 99: Kin!"

"Wait! Where'd these cuffs come from?! Where's my hammer?!"

"There we go!" Urahara's voice echoed annoyingly. "Just climb up here while you're indisposed like that, and you pass!"

"Whaaat?! Climb out of _here_?! Like THIS?!"

"Good exercise, don'cha think?" Jinta called.

"Hey, is this really safe?" Topaz asked, concerned.

"Probably not."

Rouge gave Aubrey a look. "And you're gonna do this, anyway?"

"Yep. We're also about ready to move into Artemis' base, if I receive confirmation."

"Right."

Ten hours later, Amy was wishing for a lock pick. Her quills just weren't long enough to reach, and she was having no luck climbing up bound as she was. Tessai was no help, and was actually kinda creepy. To break the evil monotony, Jinta ran down the wall with a platter of fruit.

"Finally!"

"Not for you."

"Whaaat?! As if this isn't impossible enough!" Jinta then ran back up the wall. "How can you DO that?!" Her stomach rumbled, and she sighed. She had no choice but to turn on the puppy-dog eyes. "Hey, Tessai-san, could you—" It was all gone. "Aww…"

"Hey, you thirsty, yet?" Jinta called.

"Yeah, whaddya think?! Could I get a glass of lemonade or something?!"

"Nope!"

"AAGH!" She was seething, but a thought suddenly sunk her into depression. _Sonic, how is this gonna help me save you..?_

"You can drink my drool, if you want!" Jinta was dangling it, from his mouth, over the edge.

"THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

"Ururu, you do it, too."

"Okay." Both continued dangling their drool, despite Amy's protests, threats, and unintelligible screams.

"It's gonna—" Plop. "IT FELL ON ME! THAT'S _DISGUSTING_, YOU TWERPS!" Amy shot out of the hole, giant and angry, and SMACKED Jinta in the head with her hammer. He landed on Tessai as Amy stood outside the hole, brushing off her khakis. "What the heck're you gonna make me do next?!"

"Don't worry," Urahara smiled. "There's only one more exercise, and it's very straightforward."

"Oh?"

"Knock this hat off my head."

"**What?**"

"You heard me. Easy, right?"

Amy shouldered her hammer, hand on her hip. "What's the catch?"

"None at all." Urahara pulled a sword from his cane. "Scream, Benihime." A red light shot out from the cane! Amy barely dodged and turned to face him, panting and glaring.

"What the heck was that?!"

"A Shinigami's power. Would you like to see it again?"

No, she didn't, but he showed her anyway. _This is insane. I'm weak from hunger and thirst, and this guy's ridiculously strong! How is this gonna help me?! It's not fair!_

"I've heard that you have a special gift that protects you from your enemy's most feared technique. But what's the good in that if they can simply split you in two?"

Amy's eyes widened as she thought back to the first fight atop Shara. When they had been hit, Amy had just screamed and Shara had shielded them both. That probably wasn't the only example, either. "…"

"At your level, that trick barely means anything. Your side has lost its strongest fighters almost anticlimactically, and now _you_ have had to take their place even though you're clearly not fit. As you are now," he said slowly, firing yet again, "You're going to die."

"Urk…" Amy dodged yet again, then charged. "Not until I save Sonic!" Amy smashed at Urahara's head with her hammer, he dodged, but he lost his hat. "I'm not giving up until those two can't pull this ever again, got it?!"

"Well, well, you have spirit." Urahara suddenly dissolved the tense atmosphere, plucking his hat from the ground and roughly brushing it off. "Very well, good luck in your fight. Tessai, Ururu, Jinta, let's go home!"

"Okay," Ururu said. "Good-bye."

Tessai was waving, teary-eyed. "Good lu~uck!"

"I won't be surprised when you die~!"

"And you can just crawl back in your hole, you little brat!" Amy forced herself to be more civil toward Urahara. "But thank you _so much_ for the help, Urahara-san."

"Oh, my pleasure, Amy-chan. Bye-bye!" And a black hole opened up, and all four were gone.

"Okay," Aubrey said, stepping down. "My turn."

"Huh?!" Amy turned to see Aubrey walking forward, shouldering her own mallet. The head alone was the length of her body, and the word "FUN!" was inscribed, in periwinkle, along said head's length. It was big, and black, very scary, and accompanying a very scary person. "THAT'S INSANE!"

Aubrey was smirking. "**Get ready, now.**" She charged, and Amy somehow dodged the first strike. After all of Urahara's bursts, she had apparently mastered the art of dodging.

"I haven't eaten in twelve hours! Don't I at least get a BREAK, first?!"

"No," Aubrey said. "I won't give you one because neither will your _enemy_." Smack! Aubrey could wield hers faster, smoother, and better than Amy, despite the huge size difference. "This battle may go on for a good while—trust me, I've watched humanity form—and if I'm right, you've barely fought the initial skirmishes."

"Whaddya mean?! It's just two!" Amy dodged a particularly vicious swing. No matter how much they talked, Aubrey wasn't letting up.

"One, those two have vast resources at their disposal. Contrary to what you may have heard from them, they have not yet regained _close_ to their full power. I was saving that info for later, but it seems better for you to hear that now. Two, wasn't Eggman just _one_ when he became Dictator of Mobius? Didn't the Freedom Fighters form because of him? Yes, I know I'm mashing Sonic universes here, but I don't really care. This fic's f***ed up as it is. "And besides, you've already faced some of their underlings."

Amy remembered those lizard… things, but a different response was forming. "You know about the Freedom Fighters?"

"Yep. I did my research, since I'm helping y'all." Smack, dodge, etc, repeat. And so it went for a good while, until Aubrey finally stopped. "Lunch break."

"Finally!" Amy was _beyond_ about to collapse.

Aubrey bit her thumb, drawing blood, and slammed her open palm into the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu." A cloud of smoke formed nearby, clearing to reveal a fully laden picnic table!

"That's amazing!" Amy was even more amazed when she saw just how much was there. Everyone loaded up plates with a Southern-style lunch. Mashed potatoes with thick brown gravy, green beans, fried chicken, jambalaya, salad, lemonade, the works. "Delicious!"

"Thanks." Aubrey was whipping her potatoes and green beans into what was supposedly delicious as well. Everyone had nothing but compliments—even Rouge, Topaz, and their diets.

_I miss Ella's cooking, though…_ She'd been moved in with so many other homeless statues. Amy hadn't heard from Chris, Cream, Cheese, Chuck, Tanaka, or Mr. and Mrs. Thorndyke, either. Amy ate the food anyway, but her expression betrayed her depression and worry.

"Hey, the others are here," Aubrey noted, looking up at somewhere.

"Huh?" Somewhere above, a door opened so that Cream, Cheese, Chuck, and Tanaka could troop downstairs, much to Amy's delight. "Everyone!" She set down—almost dropped—her plate and ran forward to grab Cream in a hug. Cheese jumped in and Chuck managed to pick them all up, teary-eyed. Tanaka then joined in to complete the happy fluff moment that the author refuses to write with smiles and tears and hugs. "You're all okay~! I was so worried!"

"We were worried about you too, Amy." Cream looked the way Amy felt.

"Someone like you fighting a fight like this!" Chuck exclaimed. "What has it all come to?!"

"It had to be done, but… huh?" Amy looked around, missing someone. "Where's Chris?" Smiles gave way to reveal the truth. "No way…"

Cream forced herself to speak. "After Miss Ella distracted them at the house… we ran for our lives… Then…" Cream broke into sobs. A flashback ensued.

Chuck narrated. "We found Chris and my stepdaughter in the city. But before we could get to them, those **monsters** grabbed them and began to petrify them, and _holding them apart_ as they did so!" Tears were flowing freely down Chuck's cheeks.

"They WHAT!?" Amy snapped.

"That's going way to far," Rouge muttered darkly. Topaz could say nothing. Shara chose not to.

"Please don't make him repeat it, Amy-san," Tanaka asked her. "It was painful enough for all of us." He was clearly forcing himself to remain strong.

"Rrg…" Amy seethed, snapping at "Aubrey!"

"Hm?" Aubrey watched her closely.

"As soon as you're done, let's get back to work!" Amy gave Cream a brisk hug before scarfing her food. And thirds.

"Sure thing."

"Amy…" Cream watched the girl who was practically her big sister, now in clothes suited for war, soon assume her place on the battlefield.

"It seems that Amy's found some fresh resolve," Shara noted. Indeed, Amy was beginning to hold her own against Aubrey, instead of merely dodging the ridiculously big mallet. _But she's not improving._

Aubrey seemed to be of the same mindset. "How proficient are you in the use of your hammer?"

"Strong enough to fight! Hyah!" Amy raised it over her head to smash down yet again, sending up a miniature storm of debris.

Aubrey had effortlessly sidestepped. "On what level?" Her step's momentum powered her swinging arm and mallet, and Amy barely ducked. "From what I see, you do nothing but swing wildly. Not very effective; am I correct?"

"Shut up!" Amy swung again, low. _I'll hit her when she's in the air and—_Aubrey blocked with her mallet, swung her body by the pommel*3, and used the momentum of the dropping head to kick downward. Amy hit the ground, and barely escaped the following mallet. "What was that?!"

Aubrey shouldered her mallet. "Expert use of a pole arm. Granted, I've had longer, but still."

"How old _is_ that girl, anyway?" Chuck and the others had come to sit with the girls on the rocks and watch.

"That body is 16 years old," Shara said. "Her memory reaches back 390 million years."

"Th-three hundred ninety MILLION YEARS?!" Chuck stuttered. "How is that even POSSIBLE?!"

"Reincarnation. She has been reborn ever-repeatedly while maintaining her memory, inscribed upon her soul, unlike most souls who figuratively drink from Lethe*4 before re-entering the Life Circle.

"So that girl has been around since the Late Devonian*5?"

Shara shrugged. "However you humans classify history."

"And prehistory," Chuck countered.

"For you."

"…"

As the fighting went on, Aubrey continued to display far greater handling of what should have been Amy's signature weapon. One movement fed into her next and gathered momentum, she blocked attacks with any part of the weapon, made regular use of the pommel, and was a splendid acrobat.

"Hold… still!" Of, course, Aubrey didn't. She was currently the roadrunner to Amy's coyote, and Amy was currently madder than her inner Wiley. She chased Aubrey here and there, nearly getting her pinned against a cliff and only to land where the brunette was a moment before. Aubrey pirouetted, bringing her mallet around, and this time Amy couldn't dodge. So, she blocked.

_Finally_, Aubrey, Shara and Rouge inwardly sighed. But, Amy was still trapped, Aubrey's weight bearing down. Given the species and weapon difference, this was far more significant than one may have initially guessed.

"How do you plan to get out of this?" Aubrey was clearly not letting up.

"Rrg…" Amy's pink aura began to surface, and it fired through her hammer at Aubrey?! Aubrey blocked, and was blasted backwards. Not a lot, but far enough to get her away from a shocked Amy. "…What… did I just do..? Yeek!" Amy blocked Aubrey's mallet, again.

"Well, now, that was rather pointless…" Aubrey commented. "Nothing good comes from being surprised." She bore down all the more, causing Amy's arms to buckle.

"Hyah!" No energy blast this time. "But… I did it before! Right?!"

"It seems that you can't control your abilities. Any other ideas?" Aubrey stepped forward, pressing further down.

"Rrg…" Amy's head drooped down as she strained. Her eyes widened. She smirked. "Yeah, actually." She swung a leg out, catching Aubrey's. She brought down her hammer, Aubrey rolled to avoid it, repeat. It was like whack-a-mole, only in a straight line.

"Turn to sand. Sebba."

"Huh?!" Amy fell into a sand pitfall, giving Aubrey time to regain her footing. She mercilessly began whacking until Amy pole vaulted out and landed on the other side, gasping for precious air. "What the heck was that?!"

"Kido—demon arts. High-level techniques from Urahara's world.

"Oh…"

"There are also techniques like this." Aubrey pointed at Amy. "Hado 4, Byakurai."

"Huh?" Amy screamed and dodged white lightning! "That's crazy!"

"But effective. Hado 31, Shokuho." Aubrey's fireball produced more screaming and dodging from Amy, who wonders just how many techniques Aubrey knows?! Effectively, infinity. Pity Amy, who swung wildly. Until Aubrey leaped ridiculously high, and somehow hovered there. She then somehow produced a leather loop from the end of her mallet, hanging it from her foot. And shifted a stance to one side, pulling her arms along and behind as she went…

"Wait a minute…"

"Ka…_me_… Ha…_me_…"

"Isn't that from Dragonball Z?!"

"HA!" Aubrey fired off a huge blast!

Amy was running for her life. "What the heck is wrong with you?!" The explosion behind knocked her off her feet. "Waaah!"

Aubrey still had yet to land. "Having fun, yet?"

"I hate you." Amy looked like that day alone had taken ten years off her life. Was it even still the same day?! "You're-" huff "enjoying this" huff "way" huff "too" huff "much." Huff, huff, huff. Huff.

"Really? If I'm going to help you, I may as well enjoy it."

"You ENJOY attacking me?!"

"Friendly combat," Aubrey shrugged, still hovering. "If you want _un_friendly combat, I could always do _this_." Aubrey then took a less trademark pose, but one that Tanaka apparently recognized. "Galic Gun…"

"Everybody, please get down!" At Tanaka's request, just about everyone ducked behind a rock outcrop. Aubrey gave them time to do so. Only Rouge and Shara remained where they were. Amy didn't count this as a vote of confidence.

"FI~YAAAAAR~!" And so it did, egad!

"KYAAA!" Amy practically flew into a cave, blocking the entrance with her hammer. KA~BLOOEY! A brilliant light filled the huge space, sending out a huge shockwave.

Eventually, the light faded and the tremors calmed. Dust fell as Shara calmly opened her eyes and Rouge unfurled her wings. The civilians and Topaz peeked over the rocks to see an uber-crater. Amy's hammer poked out of the cave, with Amy following and exclaiming, "I'm ali~ive!"

"Great fireball no jutsu!" Aubrey's, fired off-screen, was blue.

Amy donned a face-fault, comically charred. "Just how many anime are you gonna USE?!"

"Super… waaave… SMASHER!" Aubrey drowned Amy and washed her a ways downstream, so that she was barely conscious. "'Caddo Magnet Sci-fi Club… Rockin' it Old School.'"

"What the… heck..?" Amy was K.O.'d.

"Okay, you can take your break." Aubrey finally drifted back to the ground.

_That chick is evil incarnate_, Rouge thought to herself.

End of Chapter 7

*3: Lethe: Greek Mythology, the 1st of the 4 Rivers of Hades (afterlife), waters that erased memory; souls would drink its water in order to forget their past lives before being reincarnated.

*4: Pommel: the base of a weapon handle; ex: on a Japanese sword, the metal part on the end of the handle.

*5: Devonian: Period in prehistoric time in the Paleozoic era (before the Mesozoic, the Age of the Dinosaurs), c. 416-359.2 million years ago. This is when the arthropods (they have exoskeletons) were top dogs on land and amphibians were first coming to be. Yes, this was very long ago. Watch _Walking with Monsters_, n00b. Yes, I am a geek. Deal with it.

_Hmm, perhaps Rouge is right. Of course, Aubrey is what would happen if I had powers, so she is, indeed, most likely right. I'm enjoying Amy's training from Hell, and I still don't think that this episode qualifies the fic for Crossover status. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Oh, and read and review, please. I may or may not be able to continue posting daily, and I'd like to know how many people are really READING the bloody thing…_


	8. Keep Your Heart Broken

_Hachiban! The 8__th__ Chapter!_

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions now that they've all popped up. Well, all the ones that matter._

Chapter 8, "Keep Your Heart Broken"

As soon as Amy noted her surroundings, she could tell it was another dream. Which was odd, because of it was _really_ a dream, she shouldn't have been able to tell. But the black abyss of a space made for one rather unreal atmosphere. Also, she could see Sonic. And Tails, Knuckles, Cream, Rouge, and just about everyone else she knew or had met in this world, so long as she knew their names.

All the same, she was glad to see them, dream or not. _May as well play along…_ So Amy ran to hug her blue hero. "Sonic!"

What happened next proved this dream to be a nightmare. Tails and Knuckles were swallowed, screaming, by the abyss. And then, one by one, Sonic began attacking everyone!

"Sonic?!" Amy froze in mid-run. They all went down, begging and screaming, until only Amy was left, holding up her shaking hands and backing away. "Sonic, please! Stop!" She saw his face, which was even more horrified than her own. "Sonic!"

Sonic spoke in a small voice. "Amy, run away. Please."

"Sonic…" All around her, everyone she cared about besides Sonic was lying on the ground, unmoving. One foot went back, and stopped. "Sonic, I swear I'll save you." She charged forward, arms wide to hug. Sonic punched her in the gut, then kicked her before she had the chance to react. Forget Aubrey and Urahara's training, this was Sonic attacking her! Sonic! And this wasn't training, she knew. And so the massacre continued until she fell, unable to move, staring at him unblinking. Sonic stared, horrified, gasping for air. Two voices taunted him from the darkness.

"Oh dear," Stheno began. "It appears you've killed them."

"Good job, Sonic! We didn't know you had it in you." Then both laughed, filling Sonic's ears with their mocking tones, voices slowly fading away into a silent void.

"ah… ah… _**AAAAH!!!**_" Sonic collapsed to his knees, holding his head and screaming.

_Sonic, it's okay…_ Amy wanted to tell him. She couldn't. _I can't move!_ No matter how she tried to move, twitch a finger, speak, make any sound, blink! she couldn't. She was as motionless as the dead. _Sonic!_ crack _What? What was that?_ Nothing was in her line of vision but a trembling, screaming Sonic. _Sonic…_

The rest of the dream consisted of flashbacks. Times Sonic had saved someone, with one key difference: he failed. _That's not what happened!_ Amy could only inwardly scream as she moved like a puppet. Sonic didn't seem to know this. _Is this a dream to torture me or __Sonic__?!_

And again, they were in the abyss. And again, Sonic knocked everyone down like bowling pins, Amy included and still last. "Sonic!" she screamed. He mowed her down even faster than before, unable to control his own body. "Sonic…" She fell again, unable to move. And he screamed, calling out to the Gorgons to stop it. And they laughed. And Amy could do nothing.

And then they were fighting Eggman's stupid robochicken from episode 24. And Amy got caught and couldn't escape, and called for help, and Sonic came running, and hit it, and the microchip fell in his ear, and he took off running as Amy plummeted to her death. "AAH! SONI~C!"

And she woke up. "Ah… ah…" She continued gasping for air. "Wha… wha…" She was back in her bed, covers everywhere. Something was in her eye. Amy rubbed it, and her finger came back wet. She'd been crying? "What a horrible nightmare…"

"Sounded like it."

"Rouge… How long have I been out?"

"Ten hours. You've been moaning for nine of them. Just what kinda nightmare were you having?"

"… I…" Suddenly, Amy felt like that was the _real_ Sonic in those dreams, unlike before. And she felt like it would be wrong to talk about this, no matter how stupid such a feeling may have sounded. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Suit yourself."

Amy looked up and saw Aubrey in the doorway. "When you're ready, we'll get back to training."

"Sounds good."

"Seriously?" Rouge blinked. "You haven't even eaten, yet."

Aubrey pulled out what appeared to be a lemon-sized black olive, and tossed in to Amy. "Eat that on the way." Aubrey began leading back to the huge room.

"What is it?" Amy was carefully inspecting it.

"A Nerezza. The highly nutritional fruit of an interdimensional cave-dwelling plant that feeds off of rock and darkness.

"Oh." Amy nibbled it, surprised at the taste. It was good, although unidentifiable in the same way. She ate the rest rather quickly. "…Wow, I'm full..!"

"Yep. Artemis' place has them growing."

"It does?"

"Yep. It's my favorite base in this world."

"Because of a _plant_?"

"No. You'll know why when you see it."

"When I see it?"

"Yes—" Aubrey's eyes widened; she closed them and exhaled, her whole aura changing on the spot.

"Aubrey—" Amy cut herself off with a flinch of her own. "What did they just do?"

"They just petrified Texas."

"The state?!"

"No, the Polynesian island."

"I didn't know there was a tropical island called Texas—"

"No, I meant the state. Come on, we need to call a meeting."

The meeting sucked. Amy suggested going and wiping them out then and there; Aubrey disagreed. Shara agreed with Aubrey. During the meeting, the Gorgons petrified Mexico, minus the Yucatan, so that the main resorts remained intact.

"They would, too," Shara sighed.

"They're not taking this seriously at all!" Amy exclaimed.

"Of course not," Shara replied.

"I agree with Amy," Topaz announced. "We need to stop them before they kill us all!"

"Well, except for Amy and Shara." Rouge paused to ponder. "Don't these things need to eat, too?"

"Yes," Aubrey told her. "Why do you think they kept the tourist traps intact?"

"Isn't _Rome_ a tourist trap?"

"Yes, but all of its attractions are stone, anyway."

"Oh, yeah."

"And besides," Shara said, "Rome conquered Libya."

"Rome conquered more than that." Aubrey leaned back in her chair.

"What's so special about Libya?"

"After the Canary Islands, Libya was their favorite home."

"And they turned Rome and everyone there to stone for THAT?!"

"They've done and will do worse." Aubrey flung an arm over the back of her chair. "I've been expecting them to entomb every ancient empire's capital before _Texas_."

"Could we be more on target?" Rouge asked.

Aubrey took a breath. "We should not go now because Shara and Amy can't fight until Shara resurrects, and without that shield we will all be petrified."

"—" … Amy found no response. Dammit.

"So until our forces will actually _be of use_," Aubrey continued, "we should just sit tight and work on internal improvement. Does this make sense?"

"It sounds like you're trying to make this long-term," Rouge said.

"While the human leaders squabble, it is," Aubrey replied. "And with these Gorgons, this thing could end at the end of the week, next Tuesday, or next century. But until it does, we can't fight this thing half-assed—shit."

"What?" Topaz looked around.

"They're coming," Amy and Shara said in unison.

"HERE?!" Rouge exclaimed.

"No, to the Old Smith Farm—yes, here."

"And they're not alone. Aubrey, we need an evac, _now_."

"I'll route it through the sub-Arctic and Denmark. Keep them from finding out transport signature."

"Amy, with me." Shara was already leaving.

"'K." Both ran for the exit as Aubrey issued a telepathic evacuation all-call. The ceiling turned to granite and vanished above Amy and Shara as some familiar-looking lizards scuttled in. "You wanna piece of me?!"

"More than a _piece_, dear," Stheno replied.

"Rrg… YOU!"

"Why are you angry _now_?" Euryale asked.

"You didn't even come running to help an entire country…"

"I guess it's true that nobody _does_ like Mexico…"

"Sh-shut UP! Come down here and FIGHT!"

"Why don't _you_ come up _here_?"

"Pull your own weight in these fights!" Suddenly, Amy turned smug. "Unless of course it's too great a _strain _for you…"

"Are you _implying_ something?" Euryale's smile was just a little too thin.

"Nothing about your rear end, no nothing about your hips, no~o…" Amy looked up and away, shouldering her hammer innocently.

"Oh, you _are_ asking for it…" Euryale's brow twitched as her smile turned evil.

"Sister!" Stheno called. Right before her sister dive bombed Amy, who thus proceeded to hit a home run. "Euryale!" Now Stheno was seething. "Oh, you are _dead_." Stheno fired an orange blast, intent to kill raging.

"Shara, behind me!" Amy blocked the blast with her hammer, straining to stay standing. Her arms buckled, but if she dropped to even one knee Shara would be fully vulnerable. She had to hold out! She had to!

"Screeeew kick!" Rouge kicked Stheno right in the face, sending the bitch spinning!

"Rouge!" Amy called joyfully.

"Thought ya could use some help."

"Thanks—"

"Get out of there. NOW," Shara ordered. Rouge narrowly dodged a tarnished silver petrifier, then another. She could barely keep dodging as she struggled back to safety. One wrong move would..!

|Preparing evac in T-minus ten…| Aubrey continued her telepathic all-call, heard by everyone but the Gorgons.

"Rouge!" Amy called.

Inches from her nose, almost grazing her wings.

|six… five… four…|

Closer, closer! Hitting closer and closer to home!

|Two… one..!|

THERE! Rouge scraped behind the shield.

|Teleportation form 3, Shadowland.| All and everything of the group vanished from the caves and into shadow, and then the shadows faded to reveal no opponents, to the chagrin of the Gorgons.

"Did they just run away..?" Euryale asked.

"So it seems…"

"You were right, sister. Looks like Shara can't transform anymore…"

"Not until she revives, at any rate. Come, now, we must have fun until then."

"But shouldn't we follow their trail?"

"Hrm, since they're most likely going to Artemis' base… Alright, then." Stheno nodded and both began chanting something or another, and a lime green beam, like a laser, sought out Aubrey's focal point of exit.

"Woo-hoo!" Euryale exclaimed. "Let's go!" And the popped out on the freezing tundra. "HUH?!"

"A CIRCUIT?!"

"Sister, I'm cold~! Let's get out of here."

"Let's." They only then noticed the tar on their feet when it pulsed, inhibiting movement and teleportation like something out of _Inuyasha_.) **AUBRAAAAAAAY~!**"

On the shore of the North Sea, a big black shadow appeared. Many shadows rose from it, only to sink right back down.

_Point 3: Silva lunae._

In a beautiful subterranean courtyard, Shadowland emerged again. This time, the shadow cleared to reveal all that Aubrey had teleported. Almost everyone looked around wildly, taking in the spectacle. The architecture looked Greek, Mesopotamian, Elfish, and far more ancient than that. Intricate and beautiful steps like ripples led down from the great door, and arches carved like trees led to smaller passages. The multiple stories all around added a Pueblo element, and strange silver plants like coral grew on the ceiling to provide almost a lunar light. It was amazing.

"Everyone," Shara said, "Welcome to Silva lunae, secret home of Artemis."

The response was a collective gasp.

End of Chapter 8

_Aiya, I'm almost to the end of my handwritten script… That means that some days I'll have a chapter of this, and some days I'll have completely random one-shots probably not from _Sonic_. Emphasis on random, and no I don't care if you flame them. So if you care enough, check my bloody profile. Thank you!_

_Read and review, please._


	9. Lay Me to Sleep

_Behold, the 9__th__ chapter! A lucky number in China, and apparently to Trent…_

_I apologize for the ridiculous lateness. I have managed, like just about every author here, to get a computer bug that has delayed my uploading. I have rescued it from the computer shop, so I am back to uploading my utter __nonsense. Huzzah! _

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions now that they've all popped up. Well, all the ones that matter._

Chapter 9, "Kiss My Eyes and Lay Me to Sleep"

The rest of the day was spent moving in. The plants were Aubrey's aforementioned Nerezza, apparently ancient ones on the ceiling and almost a silver cross between coral and live oaks. The light came from buds on the uppermost bare branches.

"Huh?" Aubrey asked. "No, it's not producing light."

"What?! It clearly is!" Chuck was pointing at a younger one on a wall, practically a single bud.

"No, it's not producing light. It's consuming darkness."

"And thus producing light."

"No, it's just the _illusion_ of light."

"Have you never heard of science?!"

Aubrey thus produced a string of advanced biophysics that Chuck couldn't nitpick because it was all perfectly sound. "And thus Nerezza do not produce light. Their name means "darkness," after all.

"What language?" Chuck was still grasping at straws.

"Italian."

"What country are we in now?"

"Below France.*6"

Amy, holding a crate, had heard that last part. "We're in _France_?! I LOVE France! It's soooo romantic and—"

"Je sais, je sais, je l'aime aussi. Travaille*7."

"Hai…*8" They all continued moving things. Amy helped set up an infirmary. Apparently depetrification took much longer than petrification. So would convalescing, once Aubrey left.

They didn't have the numbers that they'd had before, which was actually probably a good thing since those who had left were civilians. They took a good while packing up the statues, but not too long. Long enough to make everyone hungry. And thus, Aubrey and Amy were cooking.

Amy had found herself in a classical galley kitchen, chopping onions and peppers and celery. "So this soup is called 'gumbo'?" She'd become curious after the roux.

Aubrey was peeling shrimps. "Yep. I think the extra spice'll help lift everyone's spirits.

"That'd be good. Everyone's seemed kinda half-hearted all day…"

"And sandwiches are _not_ comfort food."

"The blackberry jam was good, though…"

"Thanks. Store-bought annoys me."

"What _can't_ you do?" Amy was watching Aubrey's fingers swipe shell from shrimp in one movement, even though Aubrey's eyes were on her. And still giving nothing away.

"Well, I can't go to Heaven…"

Amy stared. The words were a shocker, but the calm and almost innocent way they had been said was the worst part. "You-you can't _what_..?"

"Well, it's not like I can go down, either. I just reincarnate, memory intact, without going Beyond."

"Aubrey…"

"Well, the shrimp are ready. Got those veggies?"

"Ye-yeah…" Amy pushed the onions into a bowl separate from the peppers and celery before wiping off the knife.

Aubrey gave her a sad smile, as if on big sis mode. "Amy, Vidalia onions aren't strong enough to make your eyes water."

"So-sorry…"

"I'm not gonna lecture you, but my fate isn't something to cry over. I like my fate. I can tell you what color a _Tyrannosaurus rex_ was."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to." Aubrey took the onion bowl, poured oil into a skillet, and heated it over a second flame. She then checked the cauldron of red liquid that hung over the first flame. Amy glanced again at the huge 3o oz can of tomato sauce. "Can you sauté?"

"Yeah…"

"Sauté the onions." Aubrey in turn stirred the liquid before pulling out a weird olive green bottle. "My own gumbo seasonings." She slowly poured a powder into the mixture of tomato, water, flour, and butter while constantly stirring. As Amy's onion cubes turned transparent, she saw that the liquid had gained a brownish tinge. Aubrey then plunked in all vegetables, including the onions, and stirred. "Can you get the rice started?"

"Sure… White or brown?"

"White is traditional. The flavor's in the gumbo." Aubrey sniffed it and was apparently satisfied, then drew water from midair into Amy's rice pan.

"How do you do that?!"

"Alchemy. There's oxygen and hydrogen in the air, after all."

"You'd be better off talking to Tails about that—" Amy hadn't caught herself in time. "…"

"I would, but it's tough talking to granite you can't even find." Aubrey smiled good-naturedly and helped Amy put the rice over heat. She then returned to the gumbo, which was beginning to make the ancient kitchen smell pleasantly warm. "Shrimp."

"Before Amy could grab the strainer or even comment on the rudeness, the light blue arthropods danced along through the air and into the pot. Amy made a funny face. "There's no way I'm getting used to you."

"That's good; you'd get easily bored otherwise." Aubrey then pocketed her bottle.

"What was in there, anyway?"

"Well, the base spice filé…"

"Fee-lay?"

"Ground sassafras leaf, a base Creole spice. Native American origin. And then there's Cayenne pepper, garlic powder, sea salt… You get the idea. My blend. Now, we'll let this simmer while the rice cooks. We _should_ let it simmer for two hour minimum…"

"No way!"

"Way, gumbo is way thick. But I don't think we want a hungry mob at the door. But while the main course cooks…" Aubrey grinned. "I'm going to teach you about a Southern delicacy." Her hands had moved behind her back…

"What?" Amy asked somewhat suspiciously. _That smile…_ Aubrey pulled out something in each hand…

Two huge dill pickle jars! "Fried pickles."

"Whaaat?! Gross!"

"Would you prefer to fry okra? Oreos? A turkey? In the South, you can fry pretty much anything, including ice cream."

"That's unhealthy! Fried ICE CREAM?! Is that even POSSIBLE?!"

"Most good things are. So, we're frying pickles."

And Amy had to slice them into spears as Aubrey prepared a goop of egg, milk, flour, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. "Wha… wha..?" And Cayenne pepper. "That's OVERKILL!"

"Isn't the concept of frying green vegetables overkill to begin with?" Aubrey received no answer. "Now where did I put my deep fat fryer?" Apparently, in her left-hand breast pocket, because that was where she pulled it from. Amy had run out of comments. Aubrey winked. "Watch this." The pickle spears began flying like the shrimp in perfect formation, into the batter. And out, with perfectly even coats.

"Now you're just showing off."

"Possibly." They plinked into the fryer—when had it become ready?!—and Aubrey listened to a satisfying hiss. "You know, Amy."

"Hm?"

"Tomorrow, training continues. Even my aura will be concealed within this place."

"Yeah… Why me, though? I mean, I know I can resist petrification, but—"

"Because _you can_. Don't think for an instant that you're a civilian, or an unimportant player."

"I know _that_… But I mean, why _only me_?"

"Because you need it."

"Hey!"

Aubrey shrugged. "What? It's true. Everybody else is already a master at their style or isn't fighting. _You_, however… Well, we already proved my point by going head-to-head. Agreed?"

"Rrg…"

"This isn't a situation where you can learn as you go. One mistake can kill you, your companions, and this world." Aubrey crouched down to clasp Amy's shoulders. Her lapis lazuli eyes stared into jade to reveal calm, comfort, and absolute seriousness. "You may well be only twelve, but you'll have to grow up quickly. Understand?"

"I AM grown up! I've been fighting Eggman for years!"

"These two aren't Eggman. What more must they do to prove this, send you a telegram?"

"I know they're not Eggman; they're actually competent!"

"Hence why you are being trained. One-on-one is best, anyway." Aubrey stood. "The gumbo needs to be checked on." The gumbo in question was simmering and thickening nicely, from her nod of approval. The shrimps' thick, blue stripes had long since turned orangish pink, and added to the wonderful aroma coming from the pot. Aubrey raised it slightly higher over the flame, since it was the easiest equivalent to turning down the heat. Amy took note of this, since flames didn't come with dials.) "Ah, the pickles are almost ready."

"How can you _tell_?"

"Instinct." Aubrey tossed a roll of thin black cloth to Amy, who had no idea where it had come from. "Lay that out on the table." Amy complied as the pickles came dancing from the fryer, looking surprisingly delicious. They laid out on the cloth in perfect rows, and Amy felt that, once again, Aubrey was showing off. "Catch." Amy fumbled a boxed roll of wax paper, still not inquiring about its origins. "Lay out about the same amount." The pickles all turned over, steamy and golden brown and looking incredibly yummy as the excess oil drained out.

"Are there really pickles under there?"

"You sliced them, remember?"

"…Yeah."

Soon, the pickles flipped again, then somersaulted onto the wax paper. Aubrey now had a small jar with a ridiculously wide black cork. "And now, we dust them with dill."

"MORE dill?!"

"Yep." Aubrey began sprinkling a greenish powder, not even enough to fully cover them, and they STILL looked good. "Try one."

"HUH?! But it's a pickle! A _fried __**pickle**_!"

"And thus it is delicious." Aubrey bit off half of one, instantly snapping up the remainder. And swallowed. "Try one."

"No." Amy's mouth involuntarily opened. "Awuwuh—Aack!" A tip floated toward her mouth, sickeningly green inside. "AABRUH!!!" Amy flailed her arms, her tongue stuck out, and it landed pickle down. Amy's eyes grew wider still, her tongue pulled in, her mouth closed and chewed and swallowed, and "**AUBREY**! WHY YOU~!" Piko piko hammer, she swung, and Aubrey pinned it beneath one foot's black Converse high-top.

"Sooo~ how was it?"

"I hate you."

"So you liked it."

"I **HATED **IT!!!"

"Okay, so, if anyone asks, it's just a Southern appetizer, 'k?"

"…" Amy glared.

"Aw, c'mon; their faces'll be hilarious."

Amy softened a little bit. "I'm trying to picture Shara."

"Don't get your hopes up."

Someone knocked on the cypress door, revealing a shy little Cream, who looked up at the older girls as Cheese floated nearby.

Amy smiled warmly. "Hey, Cream. Hey, Cheese."

"H-Hi, Amy. Hello, Miss Aubrey… Is there anything that we can help you with..?"

"Hrm…" Aubrey looked about the kitchen. "At this point, you can help set the table next door."

"Oh-okay!"

Aubrey checked the gumbo and rice as the girls and Cheese began pulling dishes and baskets of utensils from cabinets and carrying them one room over. The dining room was large but homey, with sturdy but light furniture carved simply and elegantly like cypress trees, beautifully carved walls, and Nerezza here and there to provide soft, cool light. The three lay out shallow glass bowls and small dishes, placing the three proper utensils as Ella had taught them.

_Cream's been so quiet…_

"Amy…"

_Spoke too soon._ "Yeah?"

"We—we're gonna save them, right?"

"Of course we are! Cream, just have faith in me! We're gonna save EVERYONE and put those nasty Gorgons in their place: SIX FEET UNDER!" Amy had finally gotten a smile out of Cream, which was a huge relief.

"Chao! Chao!" Cheese circled Cream happily, who actually began tearing.

"Cream?" Amy asked hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, I'm just…" Cream began sobbing, and covered her eyes as she sank pitifully to her knees. "This is all just too much for me, I'm sorry I…"

Amy sank down to the floor, pulling the younger girl into a hug and told her gently, "It's alright, Cream; don't worry. …I've been crying, too."

Cream looked up, surprised. "You have?"

"Yeah, but, not anymore. I don't think I'm allowed to, anymore…"

"Amy…"

"But I still miss them. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles—Rouge really misses Knuckles…"

"Miss Ella, Chris, his mother, everyone who… who…"

"Just let it out."

"Everyone who got turned to stone! Why did they have to do this to us?! To everyone?!"

Amy wanted to simply say something like "They're twisted," or "They're evil," but so was Eggman. And she couldn't tell her that cold and horrible truth. No way. "I don't know, Cream. I don't think like them. But that doesn't matter, 'cause we're gonna stop them—"

"Stop them now! Why can't we stop them now, like always?!"

"We… we're trying, Cream. But only Shara and I can't be petrified, or keep others from being petrified, and we can't go out without each other for a couple of days, and we can't fight together efficiently until she resurrects. But if I could, I would beat them up, right now." Amy hated saying this, because she was of the same mindset as Cream. It was so difficult to make herself think otherwise.

"I wish you could, Amy; I wish we could just go back to before."

"I do, too, Cream. I do, too. Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so…" Cream sniffled a little. Amy looked up at the chairs not six feet away, noting how silly it was for them to be on the floor. Cream's ears suddenly perked up. "Oh, we forgot the napkins!"

Amy mentally kicked herself. "I'll get them." But not before helping Cream into a chair. "I'll be right back; stay with her, Cheese."

"Chao!" Cheese saluted her, and Amy smiled before turning back to the door less archway. Where Aubrey was leaning against the stone, a sad smile overtaking her features.

"Aubrey..!" Amy exclaimed. "-"

Aubrey uncrossed her arms, revealing squares of black cloth folded over her arm. "I brought the napkins." Which she handed off to Amy. "I'll go get the food."

"I-I'll help!" Amy set the napkins on the table, then met Cream's eyes. "I'll be right behind you, okay?"

"Alright." Aubrey patted Cream on the shoulder, maintaining what was now a sad big sister smile. "Stay strong."

"Yes, Miss Aubrey…"

"No need to be formal. Just call me Aubrey, 'k?"

"Alright…" Cream sniffled again. Aubrey produced a black handkerchief, embroidered in silver and blue.

"Keep it; you may need it again."

"Tha-thank you!"

"Sure." Aubrey patted her on the shoulder again, passed Amy, and exited. Amy stayed with Cream until her eyes were dry, then followed after Aubrey. When she turned into the open kitchen, she froze. Aubrey was leaning on the counter by the pot, eyes straight ahead and _**intense**_. Then she blinked, it was gone, and she looked over at Amy as if nothing had happened. "Hey, Amy. Can you get the rice?"

Amy snapped to attention, ignoring the ice down her spine. "Su-sure…"

Aubrey gave that big sis sad smile, one-handedly picking up the clearly heavy pot without so much as a grunt. Amy lifted the bulky wooden rice cooker, noticing that the flame and charcoals had gone out instantly. Nothing creepy about that at all. Ah, yeah, Aubrey's irises were glowing cool blue. That explained it. After the smile, that intensity had remained solely in the depths of her eyes, and her glasses had softened her gaze still farther. By the time that they had reached the dining room, it was gone completely.

"Amy, do you need help with that?" Cream asked.

Amy was straining. "Please." It wasn't heavy, just bulky. And slipping. Cream rushed to grab the other end as Aubrey stooped over a dead burner.

"Flé." A small flame, a heating flame, appeared instantly, first blue and then orange. As it did so, Aubrey hung the pot on a convenient hook. Amy and Cream set the rice on a low table beside the pot, and then Amy noticed that napkins were at every place.

"Thanks for setting up the napkins, Cream."

"It wasn't just me; Cheese helped, too."

"Thanks to you as well, Cheese."

"Chao!"

"Hey, guys, there's something I want to show you." Aubrey had the air of mischief, and led them back to the kitchen and the opening to a pipe running up the wall along a corner. It was an opening because the cover had been flipped upward. "This is an all-call. There's one in certain key rooms." Aubrey spoke into the cup of the opening, using her most humorously creepy tone yet. "Din~ner~" The message echoed in the halls, followed by shouts and shrieks. Aubrey closed the cover and chuckled. Her chuckle was low, musical, and very creepy. "Pass the message on; these are very useful. But keep the cover on, trust me."

"Oh-okay…" both girls replied.

"Chao…"

End of Chapter

*6: I like France, okay?

*7: French. "I know, I know, I love it, too. Work."

*8: Japanese. "Yes." Duh.

_Aiya, I'm almost to the end of my handwritten script… That means that some days I'll have a chapter of this, and some days I'll have completely random one-shots probably not from _Sonic_. Emphasis on random, and no I don't care if you flame them. So if you care enough, check my bloody profile. Thank you!_

_Read and review, please, and once again I apologize for the lateness._


	10. Ghost of You

_10! Double digits! And nobody really cares__…_

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two; see my profile for more detailed descriptions now that they've all popped up. Also, see if you can figure out where all of my "civilians" came from._

Chapter 10, "Ghost of You"

Slowly, the residents trickled into the dining room. In the end, there were 26: Amy, Shara, Aubrey, Rouge, Topaz, Cream, Cheese, Tanaka, Chuck, and 17 civilians—mostly teens and young adults who had insisted on staying and helping and thus no longer counted as civilians—and 3 GUN operatives who were listed with them but weren't counted as civilians anyway. They were here on orders with Topaz and Rouge.

As they came in, though, everyone got the same greeting from Aubrey: "Grab a plate, grab some grub, and sit down. The gumbo goes over the rice." Not surprisingly, most in attendance had not had gumbo, and thus had not known that the rice and gumbo are to be served as one dish. Even Amy hadn't snagged a sample, yet.

The girl who Rouge had saved (ch.3), Momo, voiced this ignorance. "Isn't soup supposed to be by itself..?"

"Not gumbo. It can be put on with little enough to make it a sauce, or enough to make the rice a part of the stew." Aubrey set several bottles of Tabasco Original on the single oval table that could seat 30 comfortably. Not to her surprise, the former civilians were mostly at one end, while the usual group had the other. And, surprisingly, Momo was asking to sit next to Rouge.

"Sure, kid." Rouge gave her a wink.

"I'm fourteen," Momo replied shyly.

"You're older than Amy, then." Amy blushed at Rouge's comment from her nearby seat. Six covered baskets floated onto the table as Aubrey sat next to Shara sitting next to Amy. "And _what_ are those?"

"Appetizers," Aubrey replied.

_This oughta be interesting…_ Amy watched as Aubrey managed to coerce everyone into a simultaneous taste test, with hilarious results. Only Chuck seemed initially pleased.

"You, Ms. Aubrey," Chuck said, tears comically streaming, are a true Southerner."

_A relatively recent development…_ "Thank you, sir." Aubrey then noted that Amy begrudgingly polished off her fried pickle spear. "See? You _did_ like it."

"Hmph."

And now, everyone was nervous of the gumbo, whether they liked fried pickles or not. Only five people readily dipped in their spoons: Chuck and a little girl who were happy about Louisiana cuisine, Aubrey and Amy who made it, and Shara who was indifferent as long as it was nourishment. The latter avoided the fried pickles, but people slowly began trying it as Aubrey added Tabasco sauce.

"Huh?" Amy watched. "But you're the one who seasoned it!"

Aubrey calmly stirred in the extra kick. "Yes, but I like more heat than you." Aubrey took a spoonful before calmly blowing flames high over the table. All others at the table, other than Shara, reacted comically.

"…You may be right about the heat thing…" Amy sweat-dropped. All the same, most everyone liked the gumbo. With or without extra Tabasco—Chuck—and dinner was heavily quiet. "…"

Aubrey exchanged a glance with Shara, who nodded. "Are we keeping silence to mourn, or is everyone just depressed?" She was replied to with **Gloom**. "Ah. Well, how about this? Mourning is one thing, but sulking helps nothing. Therefore, the beatings will initiate and continue until morale improves." She was replied to with **WHAAAT?!** in one form or another, followed by "You psycho!" glares, all of the above excluding Shara (who had one eyebrow raised and was continuing to remind all of Shadow). "Amy, Shara finished eating before you. Therefore, she beat you, and I infer that she will continue to do so."

"Aubrey," Amy replied in gloom, "that's a really bad joke."

"Exactly. Does anyone else have one?"

You have got to be kidding us…

A weird guy named Grimmjow ("Grimm") replied with sarcasm and condescendence. "Why did the chicken cross the road?"

Aubrey assumed "that's the sprit!" mode. "Why, I have no idea."

"Because your jokes suck." Several sniggered, Aubrey included.

"Knock, knock," Momo said.

Everyone looked at a silent Aubrey. "Grumpy told the last one, so now he has to answer."

"You gotta be… fine. Who's there?"

"Banana."

"Orange I not glad you said 'banana'."

"Hmph." Momo crossed her arms.

"Next!"

Nobody immediately stepped up.

So Chuck did. "Why didn't the proton and electron go on a second date?"

"I don't know…"

"Because they repelled each other! Ha, ha!"

Aubrey smirked, the only one to get it (and acknowledge it as funny). Chuck had embarrassed himself. Again.

A little girl, about twelve, raised her hand. "Can we tell story-styles?"

"Sure," Aubrey shrugged. "So long as it's short."

"Hooray." She rested her pale elbows on the table. "Well, there was once a woman who lived alone with only her cat. She was being stalked and was getting weird calls all the time, too. One day, the call said, '3 left…' And she thought it was just another prank. But one day, she noticed that her cat was moving awkwardly. So she took another look and realized that it had one leg… **chopped… off**." Several, including Cream, gasped and covered their mouths.

"Jeez, girl," Grimm glared. "Not at dinner!"

"My name is Gretel, Grimm. I learned yours; please learn mine."

"Yeah, well—" Grimm was cut off by Aubrey's creepy chuckle.

Aubrey then gave an equally creepy, yet somehow also friendly smirk. _Black Lagoon_, Volume 6 Omake.

Gretel returned the smirk. "Correct." The two air-fived, but Aubrey popped a turkey.

"Okay, that's it," Grimm announced. "End of joke-a-thon."

"Get that stick outta your—"

"Miss Revy, please don't finish," Gretel asked.

"This has gone on quite enough," Grimm's… buddy sighed.

A boy, age 12 and the second youngest human, piped up. "Can I tell one first?"

"Sure," Aubrey smiled. Grimm shot her a glare. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Momotaro."

"Okay, Taro; shoot."

"Taro?"

"Is that an okay nickname?" Aubrey asked.

Momotaro looked at her with a surprisingly happy expression. "Yeah! Okay, so there are 3 guys together on a plane; one America, one Canadian, and one Chinese. When they fly over America, the American says, 'I love my country' and drops a gold nugget. When they fly over Canada, the Canadian says, 'I love my country' and drops a silver nugget. When they fly over China, the Chinese guy says, 'I hate my country' and drops a grenade." (There were various responses to this.) "So when they land in America, they see a little boy crying and ask, 'Why are you crying?', and he says, 'A gold nugget fell from Heaven and hit me on the head!' When they land in Canada, they see a little girl crying and ask, 'Why are you crying?', and she says, 'A silver nugget fell from Heaven and hit me on the head!' And when they land in China, they see a little boy laughing and ask, 'Why are you laughing?', and he says, 'My daddy farted and it blew up the house!'"

Taro ended with such a funny face that most—including Grimm but excluding his buddy—were forced to at least crack a smile. Aubrey chuckled. Shara suspected that Aubrey had already heard that one. She was correct, but Aubrey wasn't showing it. And Shara had little patience for such antics, especially when there was something important to discuss.

"Now that we've broken the ice—thank you, Taro—we may as well get to the main point." Shara looked about the table. "Children, it's group discussion time, starting with all of you." The n00bs. Something about Shara made even the adults gulp. Even Grimm.

Topaz took over much more gently. "Are you sure that you want to get involved like this? You don't even really know where we are; it's not too late to remain civilians, and not risk your lives. _You don't have to fight_." Her GUN fellows were clearly of the same mind.

"Hey, hey, you know it's our fight, too," Grimm replied. "My home and parents got petrified by those witches." Oh, God, his _parents_?

"Okay, while we are all here, let me say this: I'm a witch. They aren't. Stop insulting me."

Grimm made a funny face, then crossed his arms. "Sorry."

Aubrey shrugged. "Sure. Shara?"

Shara nodded, then somehow faced every civilian at once. Dead serious. "You call this your fight, but can _you fight_? If you'll merely hold us back or endanger each other, I'll take you back to Station Square. Tonight." There were some sounds of protest, but she simply continued. "They haven't taken over the world this time. There is no necessity yet for you to become soldiers."

"'This time'?" Rouge asked.

"They did, 3,000 years ago." Aubrey was looking more serious. "What they didn't petrify, they ruled with granite fists. When we restored the world last time, we removed the memory of it as a side effect. But, of course, the Gorgons were remembered before that from the time of Perseus, even though the two remainders were sealed by Shara. Medusa, was, of course, killed by aforementioned Perseus a thousand years before."

"Question," Grimm's buddy asked. "Exactly how old _is_ Shara?"

"Can I ask a question, first?"

"What?"

"What's your name?"

"Ulquiora."

"Are you Italian?" Amy asked.

"… I only agreed to _one_ question."

"_Fi~ine_." Amy rolled her eyes.

"And to answer _your_ question," Shara said, "I am 3 thousand-something."

Those who hadn't known responded along the lines of "Holy crap!"

"But I was 17 when I sealed them, and died to do so. And, I won't revive for five more days."

"Re-revive?" Momo asked.

"I have no heartbeat."

Another effective chorus of "Holy crap!"

"I will, soon enough, and once I am fully alive, Amy and I won't be joined at the hip in battle."

"Why are you in the first place?" a pretty blonde named Lucy asked.

"Because she helped me revive." (Huh? Full explanation. Yet another "Holy crap!" A blood ritual! Egad, oh dearie me!)

Amy didn't like the looks she was getting. "…Why are you guys looking at me like that..?"

"That makes no difference," Revy scoffed.

"Hm?" Aubrey.

Lucy elaborated. "We resolved to join you and help any way we could, even before approaching you. We will fight."

"We have nowhere to go, anyway…" Momo added. "We lost everything in the attack…" That was a painful reminder.

"And that ain't gonna change 'til they're gone," Revy said, leaning back. "So you're stuck with us, and we're gonna help ya. Got it?"

"They're dead-set…" Rouge muttered.

"Excuse me…" Taro raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"There's one thing we've all been wondering. Where's Sonic?"

Nobody, not even Aubrey, looked happy with that question. The answer told on their faces.

"No way..!" Momo gasped.

"That explains why pinky's leading the charge," Grimm growled.

"That was mean!" A red-haired girl scolded him.

"I actually can't take any offense to that…" Even Amy was surprised with her response. What about her hammer? "This is Sonic's specialty, not mine."

"So tell us straight," a tiny and previously silent old woman said. "Who, in total, is gone from Sonic Team?"

Rouge picked up the reply. "Sonic, Tails, and… Knuckles." Momo flinched. "Eggy went first, but he doesn't really count."

"But Ella-san and Chris count!" Cream corrected her.

"Who?" Grimm asked.

"No-not on the front lines!" Amy jumped in to catch it.

"They're also not the only ones I'm not counting on for help," Aubrey sighed.

"Who else?" a red-haired boy asked.

Aubrey wasn't holding back. The GUN operatives studied their dishes. "The governments are faltering. The Gorgons have probably made demands, using Mexico as an example. It may be deemed to dangerous for the U.N. and similar organizations to get involved, and we may well wind up officially on our own."

"What?!" Grimm exclaimed. "That buncha cowards can't even stand up now?!"

"You can never count on the legals." Revy just blew him off with a wave.

The GUN troops glared at them. Aubrey shot them looks. "There are five government soldiers at this table, on orders. Note that I said, 'officially'."

Revy wasn't done. "Here's what I see: a bat, a gal with a civilian face, a punk, and two teenage boys. The gov's really comin' through for us all, I'll tell ya."

Revy was clearly making enemies. Fast.

"Sweetie," Rouge said, "you are barkin' up the wrong tree. So quit yappin'."

"Jeez. If you're gonna call me a bitch, just say so."

"There are children here!" Amy protested.

"Hey, I ain't no daycare worker, I'm a courier. Extra-legal. Deal with it."

"Care to explain?" Grimm looked a little… too interested.

"The rest of us don't care," one of the GUN teens, the one without a braid, said.

"Can we get on with this?" his partner, a boy with a braid, looked bored.

"Agreed," Shara sighed. "Do any of you feel any different, now?"

"Huh?"

"Sonic was this world's hero, correct? If he was petrified, what makes you think you won't be? On top of that, we may not get any help from those in power."

"I've never relied on _the government_, anyway," Revy replied lazily. "The only thing in this world you can rely on is your own power." For emphasis, she drew both of her very scary pistols.

"Those are real?!" Amy exclaimed.

"Sweet!" Yes, Grimm was very interested.

"You're a very scary lady," a silver-haired fox-face said. And yet he didn't seem to be taking this too seriously. What kind of a group am I assembling by this point?

"Psycho aside," a Korean teen said, "how many are here? Not even thirty. If we leave, you'll be cut in half. Not to be rude, but maybe you guys should be _grateful_ for the extra help."

"Yeah!" Taro chimed in.

Aubrey had a response. "Quantity can't beat quality. Basic rule. Make a better argument."

Amy of all people didn't give them the chance. But she looked thoughtful. "Y'know, some of you guys kinda remind me of myself…" All eyes were on her. "When I first tried to join the Freedom Fighters against Eggman, I was 8. And I got flat-out rejected. When I turned 12, I tried again, but Sonic himself said no because I was still in over my head. I wound up getting sucked into it, anyway, but the point was that I wasn't ready. So I understand where you guys're coming from. Believe me, I know."

"So cut the crap, then." Whatever Revy did, this was clearly taxing both her patience and her pride.

"But now I know where Sonic was coming from, and I don't want you guys getting hurt. These guys would have no trouble with that, or even _killing_ you."

"Y'know, Amy…" Revy wasn't done. "_You're_ the one who seems unaccustomed to this kinda thing. Me, not so much. I'm pretty much a human gun, and I don't live in your stinkin' protected Station Square. I was just there on business and my crewmates got turned to lawn ornaments by the enemy."

"Sadly, she's got it pegged," Shara sighed.

"But bullets are no match for magic," Aubrey replied.

"Screw your magic—"

"And the attitude's not going to help."

"Screw you—"

"Not interested."

"Look, the point is, I'm not scared a' these guys and I'm willing ta work with ya. What's the problem?"

"You're all only human," Shara replied.

The red-head opened his mouth.

"And humans look out for each other," a Japanese boy not of Tanaka's drawing style, the youngest, said. "And we're gonna help. If you won't let us, I'll go to the military next."

"You won't get far, kid," the GUN "punk" (who, despite being the trio's commanding officer, looked around 20) shrugged. Did he even take any of these civilians seriously? Did any of them?

"Then the kids will probably do something stupid on their own," a brown-haired woman told him. "At least give them a chance."

"What're you even doing here, Rain?"

"I could ask the same of you, Domon." Any bets on his companions?

"You two _know_ each other?" the braid kid asked.

"Leave it, Duo."

"Aren't you even _curious_, Heero, buddy?"

"No."

Amy sighed. "Shara, Aubrey, Rouge… Can I talk to you 3… alone?"

"Why alone?!" Revy and Grimm exclaimed.

"First off," Amy said, "because we're not an organization or anything like that. We're just doing what we do. What we have _been_ doing. And second, because I don't want to get you hopes up."

"Do I look like a little girl?" both thugs asked.

Aubrey sighed. "Teleportation for 3: 'Shadowland'." The four wound up in a yet-to-be-used room. "If we _do_ become an organization, this'll be the main office. Now…"

"What _is_ it Amy?" Shara asked. This was becoming a headache.

"And it better be good, kid."

Soon enough, all four returned, through the archway, to where the others were still talking. Until then. Then, they all went silent and watched the girls take their seats.

Amy was the exception, and remained standing. "Those of you not a part of or related to Sonic Team, please listen carefully." She paused once more. "We can't let you fight them head-on. It's too dangerous." Cries of OUTRAGE!!! Amy paused again, gulping before continuing. "But that doesn't mean we're not giving you a shot. We'll let you show your stuff tomorrow and see where you stand, and in the way you may end up helping evacuate civilians or being our backup, but we're not making you leave if you want this to be your war."

"Finally." Grimm rolled his eyes.

"Ya know ya coulda just said 'okay' and avoided the speech," Revy elaborated.

"Ignoring them," the old lady said. "But it's good to finally get somewhere."

"Alright!" Taro exclaimed.

Everyone was in. Domon looked less than thrilled. Duo looked strangely interested, and Heero looked apathetic.

"Okay," Aubrey said. "Starting tomorrow, Rouge will lead some basic training. Although I honestly don't expect everyone to need it."

"Ya coulda said that earlier."

"I wasn't referring to the gunslinger."

"Hey!"

"Rouge will lead?" Topaz looked proud, but mostly surprised.

Rouge's eyes told her that it had been Amy's idea. "Since it's a big group, I'll be asking those qualified to assist, _if_ you don't mind."

"My pleasure," Topaz said.

"I'd be honored," Tanaka said.

"Sounds like fun," Duo said.

Heero looked apathetic.

Domon looked like he would beat them all up.

"Meanwhile," Shara said, "I will watch Aubrey train Amy."

"Pinky needs training?" Grimm looked at a now-sitting Amy.

"Apparently…" Amy looked miffed and embarrassed.

"Remember," Shara said. "With this, you will be soldiers, even if not on the front lines. You have to agree to follow orders and STAY with this. If at any point you wish to leave, all pertinent information will be wiped from your memories."

Funny reactions. "This is important" lecture. Grimm and Revy fell asleep and get the "this is important" lecture again. Everyone, once again, agreed.

"Don't worry," Aubrey shrugged. "We all know it's only until the Gorgons go down. And _you_ chose this."

"We're fully aware of that," Ulquiora said.

"We're not gettin' in your way, either," Grimm added.

"Coolness," Aubrey said, "but we also have to work together." The thugs shrugged. "Oh, and Shara, you may need to help train _them_. Remember the arsenal?"

Revy perked up. "Arsenal?" All guys, and several scary girls, had their heads instantly pop up.

"Of course," Shara said. "This _is_ the hidden base of Artemis. What base has no weaponry?"

"'Artemis'?" Rain asked. "As in the Greek goddess?"

"It is true that she was fond of Sparta," Shara mused.

"What," Revy mocked, "now the _pagan gods_ are real?"

"She, at least, is." (WHAAAT?!) "She is my mistress who summoned me from Mobius, what you call 'Sonic's world'."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Grimm muttered.

"And why isn't she comin' and helpin' us?" Revy asked.

Aubrey picked this one up. "The ancient deities left this world as their peoples converted to monotheism. This place is the most we could dare to help for from her. Well, this and Shara. And now Amy, but both of them chose this, so it's all good. Well, it's late; let's work on getting everyone bedded down. You guys know the advantage of going down instead of up? Shara, no answering." Shara shrugged, apathetic.

"Harder to detect," Revy ventured.

"Infinite room," the redhead suggested.

"Leg room," Grimm joked.

"Kurama was closer, although what I'm looking for is: Everyone gets their own room." (Woot!) "But you'll probably be thankful for the updated bedding." (Uhh…)

End of Chapter

_I'm not going to list this as a crossover, if only because there are too many of them. Figuring out who to use also took up more time than I would have liked. The irony was that Gretel referenced her own manga. If I need to list who is from what series, I may do it in the next couple chapters. Is this a good twist or not? In any case, be prepared for possible EXTREME OOCness. And just so you know, their storylines may or may not apply, depending on how it may or may not fit. _Bleach_ definitely won't. Won't that be fun?_

_Well, maybe not for me. This many characters, alternate storylines, and conflicting personalities caused by a complete change in the story's concept of "civilians" may cause delays and screw with my plot a little. I was originally going to create 17 human OC's, but that would have been a pain and a bore. So, I improvised. No _Naruto_, but I couldn't resist tossing in the Hueco Mundo boys. And captive. Hint. Who else is a civilian? Can you guess who the unnamed one(s) are? Can you identify every character from their manga or anime? Figure it out when I've finally put them all in, but Disclaimer Part 2 may help._

_I don't own anything related to them, either. This means anything from _Bleach_, _Gundam_, _Yu Yu Hakusho_, _Black Lagoon_, _Soul to Seoul_, _El El_, _7 Seeds_, or _Fairy Tail_. If this list grows anymore, I'll add those too._

_Read and review, please._


	11. Welcome Home

_11! Not the most intense chapter, and I aplogize for the ridiculous break between updates, but here it is and I'll try for weekliness. Please try to enjoy._

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two, and I also do not own anything from _Bleach_, _Gundam_, _Yu Yu Hakusho_, _Black Lagoon_, _Soul to Seoul_, _El El_, _7 Seeds_, or _Fairy Tail_. I'll try to update as regularly as possible, I swear on my fried pickles! …Not that I have any at the moment, but I would like some. I wish we had a deep fat fryer…_

Chapter 11, "Welcome Home"

Aubrey led them all back to the "Atrium," where Amy once again saw carvings that made the whole place, floor to HIGH ceilings, look like a petrified Cypress grove. Which made Amy wonder. In any case, they crossed the courtyard and into another arch, which soon became a hilariously tangled interweaving of stairs.

"That's pretty amazing…" The silver-head whistled.

It was. This room was almost as high and just as beautiful as the courtyard, made even more so by the immense stairwell carved straight from the silvery gray rock. The first floor was twice the height of the others, made obvious by the huge grand stair, which even had a landing halfway up. A pair of stairs flanked this and curved wide, up to floor 3. At the actual landing for floor 2, an arch led to an open, colonnade hall, and was flanked by a second pair of stairs, these on the inside of the first pair.

These merged at the twin landings for floor 3, where the landings actually merged into a huge one spanning the considerable gap between archways. In the middle of this landing was another grand stair, this one only one story and going up to floor 4. This grand stair was actually divided along much of the middle, to reveal a third floor 3 arch. All around the main stairs, more stairs curved along, reminding those who had seen them of ancient live oak trees. They were going to _live_ here? This was a _base_?

"Rooms are on level 3," Shara said." There were four "levels" visible in the courtyard's Pueblo style, which accounted for the Atrium's HIGH ceilings. Yes, it was that big. "Level 1 is amenities, Level 2 is storage and garrison in case of invasion, and same for Level 4. The stairs and related facilities, including balconies, can't be used by enemies."

"What happens if an enemy _does _try to use it?" Lucy asked.

Aubrey smirked. "The stairs will fling them into next Tuesday. Except for prisoners, but that feature's never been majorly tested."

"Wait, we have to walk up and down 3 flights of stairs, everyday?!" Grimm asked.

_I told you to include cardio in your schedule_, Ulquiora inwardly sighed.

"No."

"Huh?"

"You can take the elevator."

"There's an elevator?!" Several people exclaimed.

"Sure."

"But—" Lucy said, "But this was an ancient goddess!"

"Who else would be so ahead of the curve?"

"…"

"Quite." Aubrey went over to a line of thick, regularly knotted silver ropes. She grabbed one, stepped halfway into the dangling loop, tugged, and Zwip! She was wisked away!

"Holy cheese!" Revy exclaimed.

"Chao?"

"…What the hell is that thing, a Pokemon?"

"Chao?"

On the left-hand side of the stairs, identical to the right save for a lack of rope, Aubrey dropped down just as quickly as she'd gone.

"You-you-you!"

"Relax, I only went to Level 2. Those who don't wish to go this way—and it does go slower—can take the magical doors."

"_Magical doors_?" Grimm gave her "the look."

Shara's attention returned to Aubrey. "I'll go, then you." Without waiting for a response, she walked to a door between the stairs and the rope rack, there was a small door, like a closet. As she twisted the knob, the edges began to shimmer like silver ripples. She stepped through the dark doorway, closed it, and a moment later it stopped shimmering. Aubrey then opened the door, revealing the closet to be empty!

"Impossible!"

Aubrey smiled. "Magic." Between the main stairs and the empty rope rack, there was another door. It was only noticed through the space beneath the stair when it began to shimmer around the edges. When it opened, Shara stepped out as if nothing unusual had happened. The gaggle began exclaiming before she had closed the door to stop the shimmering.

Amy was the first to say something both decent and articulate. "This place really _is_ amazing…"

"How'd you do that?" Taro asked.

"Same as Aubrey. Went to Level 2, walked to the Down door, and took it down here. Except she used the ropes. To use them, get in position—for the doors, the door must be closed—and focus on your desired floor. Say it, if you prefer."

"Imaginary elevator operator," Aubrey explained.

"One at a time, no playing. The ropes' speed will depend on your comfort level. Either is safe, or you can take the stairs. All three will get you between floors."

"So, I'll lead up to Level 3," Aubrey said, heading for a rope, again.

"And I'll bring up the rear."

There were ten ropes and one door. Rouge opted for a rope. Amy would just take the door. She closed it behind her, seeing a sign that read, "Dead end." _Someone has a sense of humor. …Can't be Shara._ "Okay…" _Level 3._ Feeling absolutely ridiculous, Amy turned and walked out… into almost the same hallway as before. Just that a landing had taken the place of her comrades, and that the landing was HUGE. "Whoa."

"The magical door is not a horse," Aubrey said. "And please close it."

"O-oh!" Amy closed it, and the period of not-shimmering was very brief. She then had to move to let Cream out as Rouge disembarked from a rope. "How was the ride?"

Rouge looked like sarcasm. "Fu~un." The three GUN soldiers had handled it like pros, and fox face was clearly amused. He came up nearly as quickly as Aubrey, for mercy's sake! And the others followed, slower, by rope and magical door.

"Wheee~!" a red-haired girl shot up at a speed to match fox face! And she promptly fell on her face.

"Are you okay?!" Lucy exclaimed. She and Momo hurried over to help a, shockingly, laughing redhead up.

"He he, I'm fine. I normally get hurt several times a day!"

"That's not fine!" Lucy was still on exclamation mode.

The red-head bounded up (the guys watched something bouce, and Grimm nearly fell from the rope) and smiled. "I'm fine, uh-umm…"

"My name is Lucy. Lucy Hearfilia."

"Inoue Orihime!"

"Hinamori Momo."

"Nice to meet you!"

Soon, Shara was accompanying the last wave as Aubrey noted the drastic speed variations. It really didn't just yank you up like Aubrey… "And now to the rooms…"

Shara cut Aubrey off, facing them all from the landing. "Males that way." She raised her right hand. "Females that way." She raised her left hand.

"You _are_ ancient," Grimm grumbled. He was only the most _blatantly_ annoyed male.

"Agreed," Shara surprisingly stated.

"The rooms only open for their resident, so it hardly matters," Aubrey shrugged. "There are two seperate hot springs, though."

The girls all perked. "Hot springs?"

The guys slumped. "_Two_?"

Aubrey continued unperturbed. "Level one, accessible at the ends of the hall."

"The hot springs wind underneath to the other side, so it isn't heated up here and the rooms are colder."

Grimm was shivering slightly. "I've noticed."

"Wimp," Revy smirked.

"I'm from southern France!"

"So what were you doing in Station Square?"

"College."

Shara continued Aubrey's unperturbed speech. "All rooms are effectively identical, so you only have to worry about location in regards to stairs or springs. You _will_ do your own laundry, by the way."

"Excuse me?!" Rouge exclaimed.

"Contrary to your rooms' appearances, this is not a vacation." Shara met only Rouge's eyes, but her gaze carried. "This is war."

Aubrey sighed, wishing that the seriousness was unnecessary. "Everyone, go pick out a room; just don't go inside, yet."

"Whatever," Rouge shrugged. "I call the room nearest the hot spring." She then proceeded to take said corner room, simultaneously cuing everyone else to follow suit. Shara simply took the one nearest the stairs and Amy took the one by Rouge.

_Number 13_, she noted. _That's not a good thing..._

"...Mind if I take the one next to you?" Cream asked hesitantly.

"Sure!" Amy beamed.

Topaz turned the corner and took the other one next to Rouge. "I'll be right next door, partner."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Do whatever ya want. _I'm_ hittin' those hot springs."

"That sounds pretty good, actually..." Amy suddenly realized that she'd been in a battle that day. Time could really slip by... A bath would be nice.

"Yeah!" Cream cheered. Cheeze also agreed.

Aubrey's alto voice carried lightly down the hall. "Bear in mind that the rooms are all identical, save for the color scheme. That'll be based on the resident, so go ahead and check."

Down the hall, minor scraps between various guys were audible, and Amy's urge to straighten them out was won out by her curiousity over her new room.

"To claim it, write your name on the paper on the desk, and put it in the mirror frame."

"Mind of I'm next door?" Momo asked Topaz shyly.

Topaz gave her an encouraging smile. "Not at all."

Amy took a deep breath. "Here goes..." Images of army cots and stone couches filling her mind, she opened the door to find...

A red-curtained four-poster bed in the far right corner, carved like the courtyard; a full chest of drawers on the left-hand wall; an alcove with full-length mirror along the back wall between the aforementioned furniture; a table with bookshelves and a chair along the wall by the head of ehr bed. The chair looked reasonably comfortable, but the shelves were bare. A rug of some ancient and circular design radiated from the center of the room all the way under her bed, and the whole thing was visible by three Nerezza. One over the drawers, one over the alcove mirror, and one beside the bookshelf.

The room was beautiful, homey with an archaic feel in the lamp-like light. The odd mixture of the last two was caused by the fact that the whole thing was hewn from stone, smooth and bare where a rich tapestry didn't reach down from invisible fastenings. Amy also thought of a hotel room, although her stay here would be far longer. A look behind her found a map of the entire complex, judging from the intricacy and multiple schematics. It was all carved into the wall on the left-hand side of the door, as if to tell her, once again, that this place was the palace of a goddess.

And now this room was her home. Amy went to the dresser and found a creamy white card, and then went to the desk to find a pen. Made out of a feather. Amy dipped the crimson quill into the ink well as she had seen in movies, finding it effortless for her to elaborately sign her name onto the card and slide it into the frame of the mirror over her dresser. She wondered if anything was in it...

"Amy?" Someone knocked on the door, sounding suspiciously like Rouge.

"Coming!" Amy called, hurrying across the softly thick rug to open the door. Yes, that was Rouge in... a lavendar bathrobe? With matching towel around her neck and washcloth in the pocket? "Where did you...?"

Rouge gave a satisfied smile. "Check the dresser. Mind if I come in, or are you not coming?"

"I am!" Amy checked the top drawer as Rouge closed the door, noting Amy's name carved into the front as she did so. Amy blinked. Sure enough, a soft-looking robe and towel set sat neatly folded and waiting. Not lavendar, but a delicate light pink. "Wow!"

"It's kinda creepy that they know our sizes."

"That _is_ creepy... I just need a moment to change." Wait, she wasn't _that_ comfortable with the older woman! "Uhmm... could you turn around while I..?"

"Oh, you hadn't realized?" Rouge smirked. "There's a door on the right side of that mirror in the back. It leads to a bathroom, and there's a screen that blocks off the whole alcove, in the frame."

Amy picked up the soft cloth, eyeing Rouge curiously. "You sure figured everything out fast..."

Rouge just shrugged. "Hey, I'm a thief."

"Point taken." Lo and behold, Rouge had been right about the alcove. And of course someone would only knock once her bra was off.

"I got it," Rouge assured her, opening the door. "Cream."

In her own clothes, slightly confused. "Oh, I'm sorry Miss Rouge! I thought that this was Miss Amy's room!"

"It is; I'm just waitin' for her. You comin' to the springs, too?"

"Y-yes, please!" Cream's smile grew a little questioning. "Uhm, where..?"

"The robe's in your top drawer."

"Thank you! Uhm..."

"Don't worry, we'll wait here."

"Thank you!" Cream politely dashed out before Amy could fold the screen back, clothes neatly folded in her arms.

"Change of plans." Rouge hadn't moved from the wall. "We're gonna wait for Cream."

"I heard." Amy set the pile on the dresser and folded the towel set under her arm. "So what else have you discovered about the rooms?"

"Well, the beds're comfy."

"...Wow, you work fast..."

"There's also a towel rack opposite the bathroom."

Amy ran in to check. She also found two hooks.

"Now if only we got our own showers..." Rouge mused.

"Well, it's pretty good for a military base. Do you want to sit down while we wait--"

Somebody knocked on the door.

"Take it as a 'no'," Rouge smirked, straightening.

"That was fast..." Amy murmured, opening the door. Instead of a bunny barely shorter than herself, Amy found that Topaz was still over twice her height.

"I was wondering if you were ready to--" Topaz paused, looking over Amy's change in wardrobe. "Where'd you get the--"

"Top drawer," Rouge said. "We'll wait here."

A minute or so later, both females arrived at the same time. Cream looked cute as could be, bundeled up in a soft yellow robe, and Topaz looked... well, it seemed that powder blue bathrobes liked women with curves. If only Tanaka-san could see. Cheeze poked out from Cream, having traded in his bowtie for a robe to match Cream's.

"Wait..." Rouge paused upon seeing him. "Shouldn't _he_ go with the _guys_?"

"Now that you mention it..." Cream began...

"Chao! Chao!" That probably translated as "No! No!"

"Sorry, Cheeze..." Amy gave him a sorry enough smile. "Why don't you go with Tanaka and Chuck?"

"Chao..." ["Okay...] Cream floated down the hall, and Rouge motioned down to the door.

"Let's go, before someone else asks me where we got the--"

"Where'd you get the bathrobes?" Momo asked innocently.

"G--"

"Top dresser drawer." Amy shot Rouge a look.

"Thank you. See you down there..."

The group's girls headed to the door, finding not stairs, but...

"A slide," Amy stated blankly.

"Whatever was I thinking for expecting stairs?" Rouge asked sarcastically. "Oh, look, another. One says 'up,' and one says 'down'. Amazing." She finished in her driest tone possible.

"Agreed," Amy sighed. "So who goes first?"

"Uhm..." Cream looked at the first stone twist apprehensively. "... Not me, please..."

"Oh, fine," Amy sighed. She sat down gingerly, looking slowly over the edge to the spiral below. "Here goes..."

Rouge shoved her off with a single perfect foot.

"DANG IT, ROUGE! WHO-WHOA!" Wait, this was kinda... fun. Her ride actually ended in "WHEEEE!" and "Oof!" as she landed on a cushion. She quickly straightened her robe, flushing a bit before calling back up. "Don't worry, it's fine! You may want to hold your robes down, though!"

"... Thanks for the tip," Rouge called back. A minute later, the other three had joined her. But when Amy turned to go... "Hold up another sec."

Another human, as tall as but not the least bit resembling Topaz, landed gracefully on the mat. This one was clearly Asian, with severely cropped hair and a clear spark in her eyes. "Thanks for waiting up."

"Sure thing," Rouge smirked.

"Amy, you may or may not remember Sunil..." Topaz began.

"Sohn Sunil, right?" Amy beamed.

"Yeah, actually. And you're our ace in the hole, Amy."

Amy flushed under the compliment and all that it meant, but kept her Brave Little Toaster smile all the same. "Pretty much…"

The little party continued chatting their way into a lightly steamy room, cozy and warm despite the size, and gave it an appreciative analysis. A nice, warm pool with a mineral-induced green tinge, steam and baskets of bathing supplies floating above. It was tranquil as well, with little besides the echo of gently lapping water. Amy took a deep breath before walking along smooth stone to the row of hooks and finally pausing.

"Wait… There's only one big pool…"

"Communal bathing, kid," Rouge winked. "We're all girls in here, right?"

"Damn straight," a new voice smirked. In came Revy, black cropped robe already loosening as she smacked it onto a hook and went straight for the water. "Whoooo, that's nice!"

Amy's eye twitched. Being flashed by a woman only describable as a hard-core gangster was _not_ what she had been looking forward to, but she followed her lead all the same. Rouge did the same, followed by Sunil and Topaz. That left Cream, flushing far worse than Amy and extremely uncomfortable.

"It's okay," Amy smiled. "It's just the girls, right?"

"Y-yes, b-but…" There was nothing "girlish" about Revy-san.

Rouge heard this through female telepathy, and agreed wholeheartedly. The only thing female about that woman was her body (which was quite female indeed, tattoo aside). "Don't worry, kiddo. You don't have anything we haven't seen before."

Cream's blush deepened.

"And besides," Revy called, "the guys of your kind get to walk around with nothing but a pair of shoes, right? What's the big deal about showin' off your own bod to the fellow females?"

Cream's face made Shadow's highlights look pale by comparison. "Re-Revy-san!"

"Just call me Revy. Or Two Hand, if you wanna call me by my nickname."

"Two Hand?"

"Cuz I can use two guns at once. You saw my babies, right?"

"O-oh!" Cream remembered the guns. This person was dangerous.

"Don't worry; I don't kill kids unless they try ta kill me first."

"Or throw ice cream at your head, if I remember correctly," another voice rang. In came a little blonde girl, perhaps Amy's age and very innocent looking.

"Did she… to you..?" Cream asked nervously.

"Oh my, no! That was Young Garcia, one of my playmates."

"I can imagine _your_ 'playtime'," Revy smirked.

"Oh dear," Gretel smiled, hanging up her robe with a ballerina's grace. Secretly, Cream envied Gretel's confidence in her own body. Gretel seemed to notice, because she came right over. "Don't worry; no boys are peeking," she beamed. "Come now; why don't we play in the water together?" She took Cream's hands with complete confidence and sweetness, and seemed to melt away a little of Cream's anxiety.

Amy smiled as the two cannonballed into the water, laughing and soaking Revy.

"Hey!" Revy's vein was pulsing, and she was glaring madly at Gretel. "It's a bath, not a pool, ya little—!"

"And who was doing the backstroke, remind me?" Gretel laughed.

"Oh, you little—"

"If I recall, she hasn't tried to kill you," Aubrey called. Wait, how long had she and Shara been there?!

"Yeah, so what?! You wanna go a round?!"

"Mm-kay," Aubrey shrugged. She reached behind her back, and raised her arms to rest two bazookas on her shoulders with a calm but evil smirk.

Revy stared. She blinked. She burst out laughing. "Awww, damn, if you can actually _use_ those things, we're gonna get along _great_."

In response, Aubrey raised them to the ceiling and fired as if they were pistols. A great explosion sounded overhead, and the steam was blown away to reveal the last of the explosion in a giant energy bubble. "Try to control your cursing around minors, please."

"Psssh, whatever." Revy then presented all with a lovely view of her Chinese rear before diving underwater. Aubrey shrugged, dissolved the bazookas, shed the pale blue robe, and dove in after her. While morphing into a Great White right before the splash!

"HOLY SHIIIIIT!" Revy screamed, splashing to the surface in a panic. A tiny dogfish leaped over her head, and Aubrey splashed into her human form with a laugh. "GET BACK HERE, YOU BITCH!!!"

Amy laughed at the sight before her, and it was only when Shara hung up her shadow gray robe (surprise) that she realized that she was still standing around naked. She flushed before joining Rouge in the water, which was _soooo warm and sooooo niiiiiice_ and letting it soak in.

Soon enough, they were joined by Rain, Orihime, and Lucy and holy cow those last two had huge breasts! Amy forced herself not to stare, instead scrubbing that much harder, but Lucy just giggled. "Kinda ridiculous, ne?"

"Eheheheh…"

"Don't worry about it. You're a cute, petite little thing, yourself."

"Tha-thank you…" Amy wasn't sure what to do with all of these new big sisterish figures. She was used to being _Cream's_ big sister, not being a _little_ sister!

"You're welcome."

A comfortable silence ensued as Revy continued trying to kill Aubrey and Gretel, and Cream made her way back to Amy's side.

"Wh-where are the other two?" Cream asked shyly.

"Hm? Genki-obaachan said that she'd come when it was less noisy, but who's the other?"

"T-the other redhead. With the green eyes?"

"Ku-kurama?!"

"I-I think so…"

Lucy almost instantly began stifling her laughter. "Kurama's a guy."

"He-he is?!" Cream flushed yet again.

"Yep!"

Cream sank low into the water, ears drooping, wishing that she was invisible.

"O-oh, you thought that he was a girl as well?" Orihime asked. Where had she come from?! Cream nodded slowly. "So did I! I mean, he just looks like one!"

Across the bath, Aubrey cackled. Yes, _cackled_.

"From now on," Shara sighed, "I'm waiting with Genkai.

End of Chapter

_And thus goes the female bonding scene. I'm trying to avoid the OOCness, but some of these characters are indeed AU. If it's not obvious yet, trust me when I say that it will be._

_Read and review, please._


	12. Imperfections

_Behold, Chapter Twelve, the full explanation of all of the so-called civilians._

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for Gamecube. I do, however, own an OC or two, and I also do not own anything from _Bleach_, _Gundam_, _Yu Yu Hakusho_, _Black Lagoon_, _Soul to Seoul_, _El El_, _7 Seeds_, or _Fairy Tail_. I'll try to update as regularly as possible, but college is kinda the priority right now… Yeah, yeah, I know. Deal with it._

Chapter 12, "Imperfection"

"First," Aubrey began, "we all need to know each other in full."

"Which is why we're in this stupid circle?" Grimm glared.

"Yes; now _you_ can start us off with your name, home, and weapon of choice."

"_Fine_. Che. The name's Grimmjow Jaguerjacques, but I go by Grimm. I'm from Lyon—that's in France—but I _was_ at Station Square University as a foreign exchange student. Far as weapons go, I'll take anything. Shivs, heat, fists, pipes, anything."

"Good job, you." Revy rolled her eyes with all the subtlety of a grinning wolf.

"Che. _You_ go, then."

"Fine. You guys know I'm Revy, called Two Hand back home in a place you'd all die in. Well, most of you. The nickname? Well, you'll find out when you see me in combat. Weapons? Guns. If not guns, then my fists. Ya wanna live, don't piss me off and don't go on about your civilized morals crap or whatever. Next."

"My name is Shara, and you all know my backstory. My preferred weapon is my claws, but I'm also partial to aura and broadswords."

"'Aura'?" several asked.

"We'll cover that before long," Aubrey smirked. "You also know who I am, but I don't mind some repetition. My name is Anoh, although I was christened Aubrey Malgen this time around. I say this because I am a witch, gaining my power by reincarnating repeatedly with my memories and power intact. My current hometown is Bossier City, Louisiana, although most of my human existence has been in Denmark. My preferred weapon is something that you will see when Aura is explained. Cream, it's your turn."

"M-my name is Cream the Rabbit I'm with the Sonic group and my hometown is Station Square even though I'm from Mobios like Amy-san and Sonic-san and everyone else in our group and I don't really like fighting but I'll help any way I can…"

Amy patted Cream on the shoulder with a smile, and Cheese perked up.

"And this is Cheese he is my chao and constant companion and I care about him very much…"

"Cream Cheese?" Grimm laughed. "Isn't that original."

Several girls threw things at him.

"Where the Hell'dya get a piano down here?!"

"Be quiet if you value your life," Ulquiorra said with little real concern.

"Fuck you, too."

"No."

"_Anyway_," Amy glared, "My name is Amy Rose. My homeland is the same as Cream's, and my favorite weapon is my hammer. I will hit you as is necessary."

"I'm _sooo_ scared," Grimm scoffed. Amy proceeded to turn him into a pancake, with no real objections. "…"

"_I'm_ Rouge the Bat. Mobian, work with the government, etcetera. I prefer to use my kicks, or just avoid the trouble of fighting altogether."

Amy coughed loudly.

"Yeah, yeah, next."

"My name is Momo Hinamori… I am a student from Japan on a school trip through America, and I also prefer not to fight. I'm better with words and information, in any case…" She seemed to wilt under someone's look, and it took Amy a minute to realize that it was from the silver-haired guy's grin. That was really pretty creepy…

"I am Officer Topaz, government agent and Station Square native. My preferred weapon is a standard handgun."

"Great, _legals_," Revy groaned. Aubrey sniggered, although all five government agents (even Duo) made a point of glaring. "Jeez…"

"Well ignoring her," Duo grinned, "the name's Duo Maxwell. Also an agent, but I'm a big fan of tech. I'll take martial arts and guns, too, mind you."

"Question," Revy drawled.

"Shoot."

Revy drew a gun.

"It's a figure of speech!!!"

"Wimp. Anyway, what's with the priest getup?"

"I'm Catholic."

"You with the Church of Violence?"

"The church of _what_?!"

"Okay, no then. Next."

"A-buh-wait a sec--" Duo sputtered.

"Heero Yui," Heero stated. "Government agent, proficient in firearms and hand to hand combat."

"Officer Domon Kasshu, Government agent. Martial arts."

"Does speaking like that make you feel important?" Rain winked. Domon narrowed his eyes and a vein twitched, but he said nothing. "In any case, my name is Rain Mikamura. I'm originally from Japan and moved to Station Square with my father for work. I don't like to resort to fighting first thing, but I'm decent with a gun."

"Ya don't look the type," Revy noted.

"That's because I prefer the engineering and medical fields," Rain stated. "And it's your turn, Kousei-kun."

The boy next to her, Japanese and unusually quiet, nodded. "My name is Akechi Kousei, and I moved to Station Square from Japan. I like karate." He nodded to the blond boy next door.

"You guys know I'm Nobi Momotaro, but I think everyone's calling me Taro—"

"Wait, I thought Momo was your _first_ name," Grimm interrupted.

"Momotaro is my given name, and Nobi is my family name."

"Huh?"

"In Japan," Aubrey said, "the surname comes before the personal."

"Oh. Weird. Okay, keep goin'."

"Well I'm from Japan, but I'm also here on that school trip, like Momo-chan. I'm more brain over brawn, but I want to learn how to fight." Several nodded thoughtfully as Taro smiled to yet another blonde.

"My name is Gretel, and my brother dearest and I are from Romania. I like semi-automatics, but I can use axes if necessary."

(Lucy made a funny face, as did Amy. What kind of a group did they have here..?)

"Was your brother petrified?" Rain asked gently. Revy snorted, which couldn't be a good thing.

"Oh, no," Gretel beamed. "My brother dearest was killed by the Russians about a year ago."

That sweet smile was starting to be a little creepy, but most people took it as a sympathy moment. Gretel just smiled, said that it was fine, and that it was Lucy-chan's turn.

"Guess that's me," Lucy smiled. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and I'm from Charlotte. Pleased to meet you. As far as weaponry goes, a girl's gotta be able to defend herself. So I know martial arts and am good with whips."

"_Oooh…"_ Grimm smiled deviously.

"Pervert," Lucy glared. "Do you want to go, Orihime-chan?"

"Uh-uhm yes!" The redheaded teen beside Lucy perked up instantly, along with a bit of a blush. "My name is Inoue Orihime, I am from Japan, and I came on the same school trip as Taro-chan! My best friend Tatsuki-chan taught me karate, and she says I'm pretty good… But I don't want to brag or anything!" She clearly didn't. Amy liked that about her, even if she seemed like a bit of an airhead. But she was a nice airhead. "Wo-would you like to go?"

"Sure. My name is Sohn Sunil, and I moved to New York City from Korea. My friends, boyfriend, and I were passing through Station Square during a roadtrip, and we just got caught in all this."

"That's just your bad luck," Grimm smirked.

"They hit New York next, so it makes no difference," Sunil pointed out.

"Dumbass," Revy smirked.

"HEY!"

"_Anyway_, I like street fighting. Like Lucy said, girls have to be able to defend themselves from all the perverted Grimms out there."

"HEY!"

"I guess it's your turn."

"DON'T IGNORE ME, GIRL!"

"Thanks," the male(?) redhead smiled kindly. "My name is Minamino Suichi, although those who know me better call me Kurama. I too am from a Japanese school, and was on that trip. More importantly, while we're on the subject of the supernatural, I am a demon."

That got some funny reactions. Amy knew that it was probably true, and Aubrey exchanged an "I knew it" look with Shara, but the others… either looked incredulous or scared. Or hysterical.

"Yeah, right," Grimm scoffed as he laughed with Revy.

"It is rather illogical," Taro explained.

"I'm afraid it's the truth." Kurama pulled something from that mane of his, and he opened his palm to reveal a… rose.

"Oh no! Revy cried. "It's the Devil's Flower Power! I'm terrified!"

Kurama's calm smile never wavered, even when his rose grew into a massively scary whip in his hands. Everybody shut up, fast. "As far as weaponry goes, I specialize in using plants. However, I can always fall back to martial arts if my aura becomes too exhausted. Would you like to go, Genkai?"

"Suuure, why not. I am Genkai, master of martial arts and Reiki—that's aura again, kids—and I somehow got stuck _chaperoning_ the Japanese school brigade." OMG

"And what're _you_ gonna do?" Grimm asked. "Turn your hat into a black hole?"

Genkai just looked at him. "It'll take more than that to provoke me, kid."

"Oh, yeah? Well—"

"Hey, hey, Grimmjow-kun," the silverhead smiled—smirked; it hadn't changed much—at Grimm from around Ulquiorra. "Can't we try ta give it a rest?"

Even though he was acting nonthreatening, this one was giving Amy serious chills. And, amazingly, Grimm backed down. Not without the usual growl, but no real protest. Which was even scarier.

"Well I guess I'm up," foxface smiled. And by smiled, Amy meant that his mouth rose higher than his nose. "Gin Ichimaru, student at Station Square University."

"So do you know Grimm-kun and Ulquiorra-kun?" Orihime smiled. She missed the funny look in Ulquiorra-_kun_'s eyes.

"Ah, yeah, yeah! Actully, we're in the same little group. Ora, what's with the glare, Ulquiorra-kun?"

Ulquiorra glared pointedly.

"Well, I like martial arts and blades, 'specially swords and knives. Ne, your turn, Ulquiorra-kun." He kept grinning in the face of Ulquiorra's emotionless stare.

"My name is Ulquiorra Schiffer," he stated. "I am from Germany, specifically Nuremburg. I prefer martial arts, and will not draw my sword on an opponent not worth my time."

He and Shara would probably get along perfectly. Now all they needed was Shadow, which was not a pleasant thought, so Amy noted with the rest that they had come full circle.

"What now?" Grimm snorted.

"Lesson one," Aubrey replied.

Uh-oh… Amy saw that look in her eye. This was _not_ going to end well. Aubrey had them stand, and began to call out instructions.

"Tanaka, Chuck, Ulquiorra, Grimm, Orihime, Sunil, Domon, Kousei, Revy, Duo, Heero, Gin, Lucy, and Kurama. Please form two rows, facing each other. Order doesn't matter, as long as you have a partner and each row has seven. Everybody else, please come over here." It took a moment for the orders to be followed, but they were. "All of you listed an ability in martial arts, correct?"

Murmurs of agreement.

"Awesome. Do you see your partner?"

Murmurs in the affirmative.

"That is your sparring partner. For today's warmup, please attack without intent to kill."

Cries of "what the?!" mixed with silent looks.

"I would like to assess your skills and go from there, if this is alright."

Those before her conceded and shrugged before looking at their opponents. Amy took quick note of who was with who, and was fairly amused by some of it. Grimm and Revy, Sunil and Domon, Ulquiorra and Heero, Duo and Gin, Chuck and Kousei, Orihime and Tanaka, Lucy and Kurama.

"Shara and Genkai, would you please watch while I go work with the others, and have them rotate partners as you see fit?"

Shara and Genkai both nodded before moving to either end of the line, leaving the fourteen between to begin. Aubrey led everybody else from the sand-strewn training room to the one next door, almost identical in the Nerezza on the stone walls and silver sand on the floor.

"Everybody, please take a seat," Aubrey smiled. Amy, Cream, Rouge, Topaz, Momo, Gretel, and Taro complied, forming a circle much smaller than the previous. "I called you all in because you either don't know basic martial arts, or you can help me train the former."

"I know how to fight," Gretel protested.

"But the exercise in the other room involves martial arts, not guns or axes."

"True…" Gretel sulked slightly, but kept silent from there on.

"So then, I'm going to begin with the basics of what I consider to be the most practical style. Please watch carefully." Aubrey stood, walking before the group and letting her eyes shimmer slightly. Amy wasn't surprised when an exact replica materialized beside her, even if some of the others were. Instead, she and Rouge exchanged the same look as Aubrey took a basic martial arts stance. Feet shoulder length apart, knees bent, arms in a tight guard, head straight. "This is the stance you should take when going into the forms. If you have no time in a fight, don't bother."

Her replica then lifted one foot as she bent the same leg until her thigh touched her stomach, shrugged, and lifted her arms straight up like some ridiculous pose. Where had Amy seen that, before?

"Those of you familiar with _Naruto_, please allow me to point out the ridiculous stance belonging to one Maito Gai. Never try to look cool instead of being strong. You will look stupid."

Not-Aubrey shifted into the same stance as Aubrey, so that they were one shoulder-length apart. "The basic punch should drive straight," Aubrey said, demonstrating. "Elbow tucked, wrist twisting to place the thumb on the inside." She slowly hit Not-Aubrey in the face, so that it twisted back. She then slowly twisted her body back and forward, delivering a low punch to Aubrey's stomach. "The low blow is an arc with the fist slightly clenched into the arm, twisting on impact for maximum damage. It is a more dramatic thrust than the basic, meant to damage the organs not protected by the ribcage. Any questions? Taro."

"Aren't we supposed to _avoid_ getting close to the Gorgons?"

"Yes. Otherwise we'll all be lawn ornaments in a week. However, the basics are a good starting point for weaponry, and martial arts are always a reliable fallback. Also, considering that the Gorgons have an army of minions at their disposal, this will probably prove useful."

No arguing with that.

"Alright, your turn."

Huh?

"Amy with Cream, Rouge with Taro and Gretel—you two will need to swap out, Topaz with Momo. Please form lines and assume basic stance."

They quickly complied, and found that Aubrey had assembled them relatively by height, experienced on one side and unexperienced on the other. All seven assumed stance, although the experienced took those that they were accustomed to.

"For the sake of the exercise, could you three also use the basic stance?"

Amy, Rouge, and Topaz forced themselves not to grumble and shifted into the bare basics.

"Taro and Cream, arms tighter in and look serious about it. Gretel, less bouncy. Momo, less timid and more bend in the knees. Tighten your guards; look ready to fight. Ready, punch slowly as I did."

Amy watched Cream twist her body on the punch, knuckles on top, tiny fist getting closer in the span of several seconds. It wasn't a timid punch so much as a slow one. "Put more feeling into it, Cream."

"O-okay, A-Amy-san."

"Cream. Don't twist the body; move only the hand, arm, and shoulder," Aubrey said. "Also, twist the hand sideways as you go forward."

"Yes, Aubrey…"

"Good, Taro," Rouge grunted. "But remember that the hand is sideways."

"Yes, Rouge-san."

"Okay, Gretel, show me what you've got."

"Okay!"

"Momo, remember to flex your arm fully. Also, there's a difference between tightness and timidity. Don't seem so frightened, okay?"

"O-okay…"

They went several times before Aubrey had them sit back down for the next part.

And thus Aubrey took them through the further basics. Kick, dodge, block, distance. "This is not about posturing, as this is not a comic book or Saturday morning cartoon." Recovery, why headbutts do and don't work, flinching, fight and flight. Offense versus defense. Speed and power.

When they finally put everything together, Amy was happy with what she saw. Cream had firmed up her resolve, and had finally stopped apologizing with every hit. Taro had learned quickly, and Gretel already knew what she was doing. She was actually pretty vicious, but always had that sweet little smile. It was kinda scary, especially compared with Momo, who was like Cream but with a better ability to bury her sweeter nature. Her focus was like a knife by the end of it.

And it _was_ the end of it. Aubrey gave them all a satisfied look before they went back next door, and they were rather scared by what they saw.

Bruises, cuts, _scratch marks_, and other signs of battle were visible on many. It was to Aubrey's credit that she didn't slam her head into a wall when several fighters commented on events. Revy had walopped Grimm, Duo and Gin had had a joke-off, and Chuck had lost to Kousei. The list went on and on, and that was only round one. Round two was even worse.

Aubrey also didn't flinch when Revy asked what they were doing next.

"Today will continue martial arts," she said. "Tomorrow will go into weaponry, and the day after will go into Aura."

"So you don't explain 'Aura' for two more days?" Grimm groaned.

"Correct."

"Fuck."

Amy couldn't take it anymore. "STOP CURSING IN FRONT OF CHILDREN!"

End of Chapter

_I think that the AUness is okay._

_So, yeah, anywhoo, here's the list:_

_Hinamori Momo: _Bleach_ (storyline not used)_

_Kurama: _Yu Yu Hakusho_ (storyline used through Dark Tournament)_

_Ulquiorra Schiffer: _Bleach_ (storyline not used)_

_Grimmjow "Grimm" Jageurjack: _Bleach_ (storyline not used)_

_Ichimaru Gin: _Bleach_ (storyline not used)_

_Inoue Orihime: _Bleach_ (storyline used, but only from before Ichigo became a Shinigami)_

_Revy: _Black Lagoon_ (storyline used, just for kicks)_

_Gretel: _Black Lagoon_ (storyline used, not sure how that'll work… Maybe the version of her from the "I'm a disturbed mom" Omake)_

_Sonh Sunil: _Soul to Seoul_ (storyline used; funny enough, she lives in NYC)_

_Mikamura Rain: _G Gundam_ (storyline not used)_

_Nobi Momotaro: _7 Seeds_ (storyline can't be used, as this world is not yet post-Apocolyptic. But before the cryogenics, yeah, storyline applies.)_

_Genki: _Yu Yu Hakusho_ (storyline applies, because it is hilarious.)_

_Heartfilia Lucy: _Fairy Tail_ (storyline does not apply, except for background.)_

_Akechi Kousei: _El El_ (storyline only applies from before "the God of Black Death" attacks with Mr. Psycho. So, yeah, his family died. Ha, ha.)_

_If I'm not using their storyline because it won't fit or work, they're pretty much going to be relatively average people. Not Arrancar or Wizards or the like. But there are still going to be Reiki Masters and Youki and Asian pirates, which is way too dark for _Sonic_, but I don't very much care._

_Read and review, please._


	13. Monster

_Behold, Chapter __Thirteen, my first one in two months! My apologies for that last part, but now that summer is almost here I should have far less trouble updating! Yay!_

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for GameCube. I do, however, own an OC or two, and I also do not own anything from _Bleach_, _Gundam_, _Yu Yu Hakusho_, _Black Lagoon_, _Soul to Seoul_, _El El_, _7 Seeds_, or _Fairy Tail_. I'll try to update as regularly as possible, but college is kinda the priority right now… Yeah, yeah, I know. Deal with it._

Chapter 13, "Monster"

Heaven above, not again. The black abyss, the summoning of everyone but the Petrified, the way they were set up like a bowling alley… "Sonic, STOP!" And Sonic as the bowling ball. Amy went flying with the rest, coughing up blood as she went skidding across the invisible floor. The same nightmare, again. "Sonic!"

"Amy, RUN!" Sonic shouted, as he spun right into her, sending her a couple stories into the air. Falling, falling headfirst, Sonic finally running to catch her! Finally, something good—

He missed, and she fell through a floor that wasn't there, into the blackness as Sonic called her name, and suddenly it was water and a familiar feeling. He was swimming after her, but couldn't catch her, she drowned, and on went this ridiculous nightmare.

Amy woke up crying.

Breakfast included crêpes. That was fun, and it let all of the resident cooks (Aubrey, Amy, Cream, Orihime, Rain, Lucy, and Momo) do something. Manning a skillet with one sizzling French pancake was definitely something to do, even if it left Shara with the suddenly lower number of sane people to deal with those who were, basically, less than sane. Fortunately for them, neither Revy nor Grimm was a morning person.

"Uhhmmm, do we put anything on these?" Orihime asked.

"Yes," Aubrey replied. "Powdered sugar, berries, and chocolate are traditional… but maple syrup and butter is also pretty popular."

"Hmm, what about red bean paste or chili sauce?"

Amy flinched, and felt her mouth twist at the thought. Lucy and Cream had similar reactions.

Aubrey just smiled and told the redhead, "To each their own."

"Breakfast in ten," Aubrey announced via all-call. Several grumbles were audible, but the brunette had already returned her attention to the frying eggs.

"How'd that powder turn into _those_?" Amy found her mouth watering at the golden mass.

"Shhh," Aubrey smiled. Amy nodded before poking the bacon in her own skillet, just starting to sizzle. "It's the same as the milk, really. And as long as you guys are here fighting, the base will supply your needs."

"How?" Rain was a scientist, not a believer of fairy tales.

"Blessings of Artemis and older magic," Aubrey replied.

"Are these supposed ta be flapjacks?" Revy asked warily.

"No, they're crêpes," Aubrey stated.

"UN MIRICALE!!!" Grimm exclaimed, practically diving into the food. Ulquiorra shook his head with understated distaste before taking two of the tasty thin pastries and topping them with blackberry preserves. The rest did their best to ignore Grimm's grunts and munching (in French), and relatively succeeded. Amy hadn't had too much trouble keeping her sanity from the clutches of Grimm and Revy, but she was still wary as she watched the college kid work. She turned her attention to the other table activities: Cream talking happily with Taro and Gretel; Gin making Momo nervous; Ulquiorra ignoring this on one side and Grimm on the other; girl talk down the line; GUN operatives talking about something or other; Kurama talking politely with Genkai; the talk between Aubrey and Shara, where they were discussing the day's plans.

"Yes, the armory will be a good first stop," Aubrey was saying. "I'll take a poll when they're ready."

"There is some irony there," Shara stated.

"Neener-neener-nee," Aubrey stated. "This isn't the time for negativity and you know it."

"This isn't the time to play pretend, either."

"I'm not. Are you?"

"No."

"Then it's not an issue, now, is it?"

Amy snorted in spite of herself. Only Aubrey could get the better of Shara.

"So you know the plan, then?" Aubrey stated more than asked.

"Y-yeah, the armory?" Amy was embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping.

"Yep. Practice weapons only, for the first round."

"Okay, that's bull!" Revy shouted.

Holy cow, she'd been listening!

"No, I'm telling you that M-16's are the best!" Grimm shouted back.

"Yer an idiot," Revy shouted. "Yer gonna carry an assault rifle everywhere?! And one_ that_ impossible?!"

"If I can get one, yeah!"

"Dumbass."

"Che. You don't get to talk."

"I'd say the same to you, ya French—"

Amy covered Cream's ears, not caring what Revy called Grimm and not wanting the eight-year old to hear it. She in turn was covering Cheese's ears, who had nobody's ears to hold. He clearly felt left out.

This went on for a good while, until it was clear that nobody else was eating, at which point Aubrey blew an air horn.

"Where'd you get that?" Gretel looked waaay to interested in that air horn.

"A convenient carrying dimension located in an undisclosed location."

"Is everyone finished with breakfast?" Shara asked.

Thank the Heavens yes, which meant that they could avoid another chance for another pointless (crude) argument.

"Well then," Aubrey said, standing, "if you'll come with me to the armory—"

She was cut short by some far-too-anxious shouting, and waited for them to finish. Finally, she settled for further usage of the air horn.

"WAS THAT CAMPTOWN RACES?!" Revy shouted incredulously.

"Played on an air horn…" Lucy muttered. "What next?"

"A giant robot that will blow up the moon?" Orihime offered.

Reactions included WTF looks, suppressed laughter, and complete indifference. Amy fell into the first category, aka the majority. Ah, Shara, part of the indifferent group, was whispering something in Amy's ear, some bit of wisdom, something normal, thank you—

"Do I even _want_ to know what a 'robot' is?"

Somehow, that question nearly broke Amy's beleaguered brain.

Her brain had cracks. She knew it. Any second now, it was going to explode, meltdown, or do some strange combination of the two.

Why?

_Why?!_

Because Aubrey was attempting to explain the concept of Aura. As if the Armory hadn't been interesting enough (A big stone vault with every archaic weapon Amy could or couldn't think of, Grimm with spiked knuckle dusters, Gretel with a halberd, Heero with just about every weapon there, Aubrey's perfect composure, etc), now they were going to learn to use something like THAT. Grimm with power, oh Heavens above save them all! Except for the Gorgons.

"Aura is the energy naturally emitted by your body, with variations depending on the individual." _And their original universe._ "The amount that you have, along with your control, will also depend on the individual. Some may not even have access to much, while others may have more than they have any right to. Do you understand?"

Crickets were chirping.

"Fine; we will now have demonstrations. Miol aural, sclir in xlun; ula ni lura, lisrelsil ucral." Where Aubrey's thumbs met her pinkies, a light blue glow appeared to form an aurora borealis behind her back. Amy gasped, surprised at the suddenness and its beauty. She wasn't the only one.

"This is called the Witch Dance, the most fundamental of my powers. Depending on the hand signs, I can alter its form into blades," (flat palms and a razor-sharp curtain inches wide) "a shield," (bending only the pointers and pinkies) "or dragons" (thumb and middle, two giant glowing Oriental dragons?!). "Well, those being among them, and being my own unique type. Yours will probably be nothing like this. _If_ you have any power. Yes, Momo?"

"So, not everybody has aura."

"Pretty much."

"But some of us do."

"We shall see. Let's see… who among us can tell without a doubt?"

Aubrey, Shara, Genkai, Kurama. These four went to look at each person and try to determine whether or not the humans had any aura capabilities. Genkai made funny faces at a few, including the 3 from Station Square University and Momo. In the end, the results were a little surprising. Revy (Oh God), Grimm (Oh God), Ulquiorra (… no surprise), Gin (good or bad?), Momo (who thought that Gin with power was bad), Orihime (?), Lucy (?), and Cream (?!).

"Barely any," Genkai remarked, looking over Revy. "But it's there."

"Yeah, yeah, Grandma. So who _is_ the strongest out of this?"

Aubrey looked around at her fellow three, and Amy, before nodding.

"Heh, prob'ly me," Grimm smirked. "I'd love to beat yer ass now, bi—"

"The one with the most power, out of you eight…" Aubrey smirked, "Ulquiorra."

It _had_ to be the quiet, creepy ones. _Every time_.

"Hm. That would probably explain this." Ulquiorra, barely blinking, pointed at a wall. A green light appeared at his fingertip—

"Wait." Aubrey's voice turned firm. "If that's a Cero, no blasting the walls. Aim it over here." At her?!

"Are you sure?" Was that a smile on his face? Finally some trace of one?!

"Sure. Everybody, move."

Everybody complied. Aubrey and Ulquiorra faced off, about six yards between them, and the latter fired. What looked like a laser, thinner than his arm, that shot straight at Aubrey's head! And exploded! Aubrey's form vanished within a cloud of dust, leaving complete silence in the wake.

Amy expected the worst as it cleared. Simultaneously, she expected Aubrey to be perfectly unharmed, even juggling some green fireball. And, there was Aubrey, unscathed, aura rippling over her body like the ultimate water shield. That in itself was amazing, even more so that a supposedly normal human had fired that thing! And there was the crowd reaction.

"Holy FUCK!" Grimm shouted. "How long've you been able to do THAT?!"

"Several months," Ulquiorra coolly answered. "It's still a work in progress."

Revy whistled. "I'd like ta see the finished product. If humans can do that, sign me up for the whole boot camp."

"Not _every_ human can use aura like that," Aubrey replied. "In fact, I've never heard of a human being able to do that, period."

"You called it a 'Cero'?" Ulquiorra inquired. "Isn't that Spanish?"

"Got it in one," Aubrey smirked.

"For the rest of the day," Shara called, "we will form two groups; Aura and Weapons. If you can't use Aura, you'll train under me and the GUN officers. Yes, Taro?"

"Why are Rouge-san and Duo-san smiling like that?"

Rouge's smirk widened. "You'll find out soon enough, kid."

"Yes, Amy?"

"Why do I hear screaming next door?"

"Because Shara is partial to Spartan calisthenics."

"…"

"Now, everyone, focus in; draw the energy out; release."

KA-**BOOM!!!**

"Holy FUCK, my Cero was bigger'n Ulquiorra's!"

Guess who.

**KA-**_**BOOM!!!**_

"Holy FUCK, Ulquiorra!!!"

"Fuck you, Ulquiorra. You too, Bitch."

"No."

"Only if I'm on top."

"HELL NO, BITCH!!!

_Kreeeee_**BOOM!**

"Cream?!" Amy exclaimed. She'd just fired a beam of power, while not as impressive as the guys', and made a 10-foot wide crater in the wall! And left many shocked faces in her wake, starting with her own.

"U-uhm…"

"Was that the Spirit Wave just now..?" Kurama mused.

"Or something pretty close," Genkai affirmed.

"Holy FUCK!!!" Grimm and Revy shouted.

"Holy Hand Grenades, Batman!" Aubrey exclaimed sarcastically. "There are people who can't come up with alternatives to cursing, even around MINORS!"

For some reason, Gin and Orihime found that absolutely hilarious.

3 hours later, Amy's brain came still closer to an explosion equivalent to Ulquiorra's latest (even greener) Cero. Gin and Momo had somehow materialized Japanese swords, yes swords, and had promptly stated their names. Then, when Grimm's Cero had nearly vaporized Cream—heart attack moment—Orihime of all people had summoned a bright orange shield. She had promptly been surrounded by paper airplanes, one of which began to yell at her.

In short, there had been an explosion of crazy powers, both literally and figuratively, and it was driving Amy near insane. And that wasn't counting her own Aura training.

"DODGE!"

"UWAAAAH!" Again, Amy dodged the energy vortexes that could slice through almost anything. If Aubrey with a mallet was a nightmare, Aubrey with her Aura was Hell. At least she was on their side…

"DODGE!"

…She _was_ on their side, right?

"DODGE!"

"Wheeeew," Revy whistled, sinking right into the bath. "I bet Superman didn't have to go through all that."

"I knooooow," Lucy groaned. "And we didn't even manage anythiiiing…"

"We got showed up by an eight-year old."

"Yeah…"

"And that was just ridiculous! There's no way I can take such a weak—!

"Ts-Tsubaki-kun, you can't show up here!!!"

"Huh?" The pixie thing looked around the bathroom, growing redder with every second. "I… Uh… BYE!!!"

"Was your power yelling at you, again?" Cream asked.

"Uhm…" Now Orihime had a bit of a blush.

"At least yours can be quiet," Momo groaned.

"Eh?" Revy poked her head up. "I don't hear nuthin'…"

"That's because she's in my head…" Momo groaned.

"So tell 'er ta shut up."

"She woooooon't…" Momo sank into the bathwater, blowing bubbles around her submerged nose.

"Hoo, these two almost make me glad ta be runnin' dry…"

"There's something really depressing about that," Lucy sighed.

"Yeah… Speakin' 'a depressin'…"

"Hm?"

"Are those real or implants?"

"Whaaat!"

Without waiting for further answer, Revy took one and squeezed as much as she could get her hand around.

"HEY!"

"Huh, they're real. I was almost sure ya'd gone down ta Mexico…"

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!!!"

"Could you stop scarring Cream?" Amy glared.

"Huh?" Revy peered over at the bright red little rabbit. "Oh, sorry. And don't worry, yer own'll come in soon enough."

"That wasn't the point!"

"Oh, yeah, yer's, too."

"That's not what I was talking about!"

"Oh. Ah well, blow it out yer somewhere." And with that lovely line, Revy fully submerged and stayed there.

"She takes some getting used to," Lucy sighed.

"'Getting used to,' nothing," Amy glared. The water felt so nice, but she ignored it. "She needs to learn some manners."

"Sounds like fun," Aubrey smirked. OGodwhere'dshecomefrom?! "Perhaps we should put those with no display of powers with Shara, tomorrow."

"Why're you punishing _me_?!" Lucy cried. "You SAW them at dinner! Shara all but KILLED them!"

"You can't take one for the team?" Aubrey asked.

"Why me~?! It sounds like Shara's as bad as Erza!"

"…Who?" Amy couldn't think of anybody here with that name…

"O-oh… Erza's like my best friend."

"'Like'?"

"Well I only recently started attending school at Station Square, and Erza's one of the closest friends I made. She's also the only girl in my closest group… She and Natsu are… in storage with my boyfriend…"

"You have a boyfriend?" Orihime gasped.

"Well duh," Revy told her. "With a bod like that? She's prob'ly gone through 'em weekly, easy!"

"N-no… Gray's my first. My first serious one, anyway…" Flustered as she was, there was a pretty sweet smile on Lucy's face. "He's everything I've wanted in a guy…"

"A foot-long—"

"NOT EVEN CLOSE!!! Sure he's cute, he's even hot! But he's also mature and calm and he knows how to treat a lady and he's a really good kisser besides…"

"And the truth starts showin' itself."

"I'm jealous," Momo smiled. "That yours is with you."

"He's a granite block right now."

"Well, I mean…"

"H-he's actually… you two are together…" Orihime explained. "And I'm jealous, too…"

"You two have unrequited loves?" Aubrey smiled. The shojo lovers hadn't been appeased for a few chapters, now… Almost instantly, nice bright blushes appeared on both girls' faces. "So it appears."

"Care to share?" Lucy and Revy smirked.

"U-uhm! Se-senpai is… in America now…" Momo mumbled. "I'm trying to get over it, but… But Senpai was just so-so kind and so understanding and so… and I was never brave enough to tell him how I felt…" Her mumblings slowly sank into incoherent murmurs. Yeah, guess who.

"Yep, that's unrequited," Revy said.

"You have to be gentler than that!" Lucy glared.

The only way to save Momo was to redirect the spotlight. And since girls almost always loved to talk about love, Amy looked over at Orihime. "What about _your_ love, Orihime?"

"M-me?!" Orihime turned redder than Grimm's Cero. "I-I…uhm… Ku-Kurosaki-kun is in my class, and I've liked him for… awhile now…"

"Aww, classmate crush!" Lucy squealed. "Why do you like him?"

"We-well we have the same hair that sticks out and gets funny looks…"

"What, a guy with hair like that?" Revy teased. "Yeah, I can see that."

"N-no, I mean the color! I mean it's such a weird color and everybody stares at it and people used to pick on me for it all the time…"

"Ah, yeah, ya live in Japan…" Revy nodded. "A well, go on."

"Well, he has a really funny face, and it always makes me smile!"

"A funny face?"

"Yeah, he's almost always got this scowl on his face, but he also gets in a lot of fights…"

"Are you sure this is a good guy for you to be liking?" Lucy asked, slightly concerned.

"H-hai, Kurosaki-kun is a very kind person… and he always looks out for others…" Orihime trailed off.

"So why don't you confess your feelings?" Amy asked. ^_^

"I-I can't!" (So much for calming the blush down) "I-I'm shy and not that great—"

"Ya looked in a mirror?" Revy scoffed.

"Bu-but… and I think he likes someone else anyway…"

"Oh really?"

"Ye-yes. Kuchiki-chan's originally from another school, but she's really strong and kind and she can always snap Kurosaki-kun out of whatever funk he's in…"

"So in short you 'n Momo are both screwed," Revy summarized.

"That's not right at all!" Lucy glared. Then, she got an evil smile. "What about you?"

"Eh?"

"Who do you like?"

"Eh?"

"Hey, she's blushing!" Amy noted that that made it grow.

"Soo~?" Lucy prompted, sidling closer.

"I'm a hardened criminal, not a high school student. I don't have crushes, I don't have friends, I have business partners and allies."

"So who are your 'business partners'?" Aubrey asked.

Did she know something? Amy wondered.

Only what pairing that Ara favored.

"Eh, ya ain't cops, right?"

"You see the GUN folks here?"

"Eh." Revy raised a couple of fingers. "The outfit I work for has three members 'sides me. Dutch is in charge, don't fuck with him just cuz he doesn't have my temper. 'Nam vet, that's all I know. Benny's a wimp, but he's a wimp that can damn well use a computer. Rock, he's newer. _Pencil-pusher_ before if ya can believe it, can't use a gun and believes in 'diplomacy'. Pisses me off, but 'least he can keep up. Mostly."

"I see."

"See what?"

"Which one you favor."

"Piss off, what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah," Amy smiled. "All those years, haven't you been in love?"

"Of course, with only one. I'd always seek out his reincarnated soul…"

"That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, but I haven't seen him since the American Civil War."

"Yeek," Revy winced.

"Huh?" Amy blinked. "When was that?"

"Over a hundred years ago."

"Gyaaah!"

"Hey, where's the bunny?"

"Huh? Oh, Cream's asleep."

"She ain't drownin'?"

"No, she's propped up against the wall. She's really tired…"

"Oh."

"Cream?" Amy shook her gently. "Cream, this isn't a place to sleep."

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"Say…" Revy smirked. "Have _you_ started liking anyone yet?"

Splash!

"Cream!?" Amy couldn't believe that she'd fainted.

"Huh, I'll take that as a yes."

End of Chapter

_What, Heero or Gretel with POWERS?! Hell no. And, yes, Ulquiorra had to be the badass. Who else?_

_And did you or did you not like the girl talk at the end? I wanted to get some of their backstories out there a bit more, give a bit of foreshadowing and further explain how the HECK all of these manga fit together. Well, not really so much the last part. You'll just have to be patient, there._

_Read and review, please._


	14. Her Ghost in the Fog

_I'M BACK, BABY! …With another training chapter. Don't worry, updates'll be regular again, so please don't lose faith in the story's completion…_

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for GameCube. I do, however, own an OC or two, and I also do not own anything from _Bleach_, _Gundam_, _Yu Yu Hakusho_, _Black Lagoon_, _Soul to Seoul_, _El El_, _7 Seeds_, or _Fairy Tail_. _

_..._

"Lucy…" Aubrey nodded her over, with this _look_ on her face.

"Wha-what..?" Hesitantly, the fresh-from-the-bathroom blonde got up from the table and followed Aubrey into the kitchen. Taking her plate, Amy was able to somewhat overhear the conversation. Something about a key that Lucy was carrying?

Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, Amy sank her bowl into the dishwater and made a quick, clean job of washing off the oatmeal. The meals had had to get simpler, but by no means had they gotten less tasty.

Aubrey and Lucy left whatever room that they were in, clearly set on another destination.

No, Amy would not follow. She wanted to, but she knew just how little good it would do.

"Amy."

"Hm?" The hedgehog turned to see Aubrey's head in the door.

"Could you come with us to the Armory?"

"Su-sure!" Amy quickly set her dishware into the drying rack before following the older girls. Both looked preoccupied with something, although only Lucy seemed truly nervous about it. "What's up?"

"A theory on Lucy's power."

"Huh..?"

It was only then that Amy saw what was in Lucy's hand: an ancient silver key. She often fiddled with the thing, but always on the key ring. Now, it was off the belt, and Lucy was tracing the inscribed sign of Canis Minor.

"What exactly…"

"We'll see."

Aubrey said nothing more, and led them above the dorms, past the ceiling, to the Armory. It was a high room, far longer than it was wide, and lined with all forms of ancient weaponry. No doubt that Tails would have walked right on through, but Amy had found some deep inclination to the bows, spears, swords, and other tools of war that now surrounded her. High shelves housed them all, all in perfect condition.

And here were the whips. Corded, beaded, flayed, even metal and edged ones. Some definitely made her shiver (many weapons in here could do that, though), and somehow the idea of this sweet blonde using them just… No.

Wait, why were they passing them? Wasn't Lucy a whip-user? She'd given some of them a go, the other day…

"What're we here for, then..?"

"Keys," Aubrey said simply.

"Keys?" Amy looked over to Lucy, who had tensed again. "Like Lucy's?"

"Somewhat." Aubrey led them further down, to an area that could easily drive Amy insane. Spots of cold, spots of warmth, none of it having anything to do with the temperature. Aubrey had explained, quite simply, that the objects housed here were magical. And powerful. "Here."

"Took you long enough."

"Shara?" Amy blinked. "Why're you..?"

"Who else could find those things down here?"

"So then..?"

"Artemis had contact with three of the great constellations, and thus their keys. With those, she was able to summon them to her side in battle. Unfortunately, not just anybody can use them."

"But Lucy has a key, too."

"Yep, so she should be able to use these, as well."

Three golden keys sat in opened, velvet-lined boxes, shining despite their age.

"Wo-wow…" Lucy gasped. "Sagittarius, Aries, and Leo..?"

"You know all the constellations?" Amy had no idea what each sign meant (her magazine's horoscopes didn't show them).

"I-I'm just an amateur stargazer…" Lucy blushed, but her eyes remained on the keys.

"Have you ever tried summoning?"

"No-no I… I had no idea that they were real; I'd just read the stories…"

"Pay a visit to the library; you'd be surprised."

"A-awesome!"

"But, first things first."

"Huh..?"

"Let's see if you actually _can_ summon anything, with your current power."

"Yo-you think I can?"

"You're holding one of Artemis' hounds, are you not?"

"Nikora…" Lucy stared down at the silver key with fresh wonder.

"I haven't seen him in a few thousand years, myself," Shara conceded. "I wonder how he'll have changed?"

"Changed?"

"They change over time, like the world around them."

"Okay, then…"

...

The library was a huge, vaulted space filled with shelves filled with books, scrolls, even albums of papers. Lucy all but flew to the history section, that dog(?) behind her. What kind of a dog had a cone for a nose, anyway?

"_What_ is _that_?" a familiar voice asked (stated).

Amy turned to see Ulquiorra at one of the tables, looking up from yet another huge book. Was it her imagination, or were all of their covers black? It was enough by itself how much time he spent in here…

He was still looking at Nikora.

"This is Nikora, one of the stellar spirits who I can summon!" Lucy pulled it into another glomp, beaming even at Ulquiorra. If she was disappointed that she wasn't strong enough for the golden keys, yet, she wasn't showing it.

"…Ah. A _what_?"

"One of the spirits of the constellations. It turns out that the key that Mom gave me opens a gate to their world, and lets me summon Nikora to help me fight!"

"…" Ulquiorra went back to his book.

Awhile later, he borrowed another one from Lucy.

...

"Today, we begin the real training."

"Huh?"

"Then what the Hell've we been doing?"

"We don't have forever down here!"

Aubrey stood perfectly calmly, listening to every complaint before explaining herself. "I am fully aware that we are pressed for time, and I assure you that none of it has been wasted. However, I will ask this: who here, who was a civilian before, is at the same level as when you first arrived?"

Nobody raised their hand. Revy looked sorely tempted, but she didn't really classify as a civilian.

"Continuing, who here knows that they could not have kept up with our stronger group members three days ago?"

Tentative hands went up, first from Momo and Taro. Others followed, including Lucy and Orihime. Many, however, had their arms adamantly crossed.

"So three days ago, most of you could take me on like this." With the mallet. More hands went up in rapid succession. "You get the idea; so now that everybody not only can keep up but work together, we'll start doing the fun stuff: teamwork. Guess how?"

Unlike almost everybody else, Amy was looking forward to this one.

"Base-wide tag."

_Huh..?_

"What?" Aubrey asked. "No training from Hell would be complete without having me, Shara, Rouge, Amy, and Genkai hunting you all down like dogs, all through the base."

"Question." Wow, Revy had actually raised her hand.

"Hm?"

"Do we get weapons?"

"Nonlethal. Think of it as laser tag. The point of this is that, quite simply, you will not be engaging the enemy so much as getting civilians to safety. Which will require stealth more than anything."

Ugh…

"Problem?"

Oh shit, her eyes were glowing!

"Everyone, take one of these."

A… rock.

Which, with Aubrey, would probably turn out to be a miniature nuke. "These will create shields to protect you from getting hurt by anything that your enemy can throw at you, as well as the base. When you're tagged, they will also freeze you after ten seconds."

"How do we get unfrozen?"

"Well, seeing as how the person with that ability is hunting you…" Amy mused…

"You don't," Shara said simply.

"Until we get _everyone_, or call time. Or lunch, which I'll be skipping off to make at some point, which is when the kitchen will become off-limits."

"Anywhere else off-limits?"

"Your rooms, unless you have to visit the restrooms. If you lounge about in there for a break, they will kick you out."

Yeek.

"And into our direct line of fire."

Aww, Hell.

...

"Sorry, Cream…" Amy looked down at the little rabbit a balcony below, and prepared to pounce.

"_Cream_," Momo whispered. "_Hurry, over here._"

"Sorry, kid."

"Ack! Rouge!"

"Momo!"

"Hi, Cream."

"Amy-san!"

Tag.

Tap.

The girls sighed and took seats by the wall before they were frozen stiff.

"Nice one, Amy."

"You too, Rouge. Better luck next game!"

"Where now—"

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" Revy shouted, voice echoing through the courtyard.

"HELL YEAH!" Grimm whooped.

Somewhere, Ulquiorra was rolling his eyes.

Something glinted in Amy's peripheral, and she turned to see a mirror sticking around the corner. Rouge turned at the sound of three teenage gasps, and the huntresses smirked before giving chase. They turned the corner to see the backs of Lucy, Orihime, and Sunil, already to the end of the hall. That was pretty fast…

Lucy, the last, looked back as they turned. "HIGH TAIL IT, GIRLS!"

"HA-HAI!" Orihime shrieked.

"Weren't you taught to never look back?" Rouge called, swooping ahead and around.

"AIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"

"…Huh?"

Amy finally turned the corner, and was promptly greeted by the sight of all three girls, freezing, thanks to Genkai. That woman could be pretty scary, sometimes…

"Ha! Told 'em they'd never catch—"

All three turned to see Revy, Grimm, and their shocked faces.

"I TOLD YA ta check the corners, dumbass!"

"Shut up and run, bitch!" Both quickly turned tail, only to be popped on their heads by Shara. "Aww, come _on_!"

"Now all we're missing is Aubrey," Amy noted.

"Where _is_ she, anyway?"

...

"Oh, _Ulquiorra~_," Aubrey called. "_Gi~in~_, where _are you~_?"

_Just haaad to pick the library…_ Gin mouthed.

"…" Why the _Hell_ was Ulquiorra so scared of that woman, anyway?

"Hiiii, Gretel!"

Somewhere above their heads, a little girl squeaked.

Wait…

How the Hell had Gretel gotten onto the chandelier?

Aubrey promptly took a little hop, then a bigger hop, then a huge hop, then an INSANE hop that put her right in Gretel's face. The little blonde tried to jump to the next chandelier, only to have Aubrey grab her, land on said chandelier, run along the ceiling, speed down the wall, and freeze her victim, ignoring all laws of physics along the way.

Gin and Ulquiorra ducked down behind their shelf, lest they be spotted. Sword or no sword, laser or no laser, there was no _way_ that they could deal with that!

"Hey, guys…" Aubrey called to the room.

Had she seen them?

"Hi." She smiled at them from across the aisle, noted their reactions, and pulled out a mallet.

...

"Does anybody else hear screaming?"

Yes, it turned out that they had, and it wasn't too soon until the only ones left were GUN operatives, Kurama, and… Kousei. Rouge had surprisingly little trouble freezing Topaz, which led Shara and Aubrey to start after the three guys. They ran silently as the professionals they were, always listening before turning corners. When Heero wound up rounding on Amy, he didn't even hesitate before shooting. Amy barely blocked the light darts in time, but her stall was enough for Aubrey and Shara to catch up. She enjoyed giving Heero a sound bonk on the head.

Aubrey then proceeded to put out an all-call. "That makes three more wins for the Hunters, everyone. Don't worry, we only have two more to go… Kurama and Kousei."

"THEM OF ALL PEOPLE?" Grimm shouted from somewhere.

Genkai's voice came on a moment later. "No. Just Kousei."

Ouch.

Kousei crouched in the darkness of his isolated corner, the lonely and still unused storage rooms four stories up. The high shelves worked perfectly well to hide him among the shadows, and the hall ensured multiple exits; now he, the last, just had to wait.

He didn't have to wait, long.

"Hello?" Amy called. "Anybody here?"

"He's here," Rouge assured her. "I can hear his breathing."

Kousei was already frozen, but he stiffened even more as he stopped breathing.

"And now his heart's speeding up because he's holding his breath."

Dammit, she was looking right at him. He barely dodged the bat's almighty tag, and spun to avoid Amy. He bolted further down the hall, in case the others had followed the first two. Unfortunately, Amy had little trouble outrunning him.

"Game," the Mobians declared over the all-call. It was only then that everybody could move, again.

"What next?" Revy demanded.

Aubrey, wherever she was, was smiling. "Teams."

Not just any team tag, either; strategy team tag. The kind where each team would have to maintain bases, get complete control of the base, and defeat every enemy. As such, two "medics" who could reverse the freezing were allowed. The game would continue until a side won, which meant neutralizing all enemies and securing the whole base.

...

Amy looked over her team, assessing it like Aubrey beside her. Cream, Cheese, Duo, Heero, Ulquiorra, Gin, Orihime, Kousei, Kurama, and Rain. An energy-wielding 8-year-old, her chao, a techie with a staff, an emotionless gunman, a Hollow (how appropriate), a smiley samurai ninja, a barrier warrior (Aubrey's term), a child version of Ulquiorra, a demon plant-user, and what Revy called an Everyman.

"Okay," Aubrey began. "Who has an idea?"

No screamers in the group, the biggest reaction that they got was Duo's "Wait, huh?"

"What are you, sheep?" Aubrey asked. "Now I know that a _couple_ of you have to be capable of formulating some form of plan."

Heero and Duo exchanged a glance, considering. However, it was Kurama who spoke up first. "The other side will consist of Shara, Rouge, Genkai, Domon, Revy, Grimm, Lucy, Sunil, Momo, Taro, Tanaka, Topaz, Chuck, and Gretel; correct?"

"Pretty much."

So he went over each side's strengths and weaknesses, what versus what, possibilities, and important targets (Rain, Duo, Heero, and Amy added whenever appropriate) before they formed anything close to a plan. But when they did, Amy was all the more thankful for the amassing team, because Hoo boy this was gonna be awesome!

Key areas to hold: Armory and kitchen, possibly library. The current base, upstairs storage, was to be used as a fallback point in the meanwhile.

Objectives: Secure bases, suppress enemy, keep medics safe. Orihime would be the final wall.

Medics: Orihime and Rain.

Mission: Start.

End of Chapter

_Yeah, not my best work ever. Oh well, I wanted to have some fun. And that bit with Lucy? Yeah, I had to come up with something for her power, and the keys are awesome! Those three seemed to correspond most to Artemis (without being too convenient, ahem Gemini) that she had, and Nikora (I know that they call him Plue, 'k?) was a must (since I don't know Lucy's b-day). I'll probably do this kind of thing with a lot of the characters, especially if I need a Sword of Plot Continuation._

_Review, please._


	15. The Hound

_Here lies Chapter Fifteen, probably the least interesting chapter to date._

_No, I do not own any of the Sonic Universes, characters, rights, or merchandise besides a couple games for GameCube. I do, however, own an OC or two, and I also do not own anything from _Bleach_, _Gundam_, _Yu Yu Hakusho_, _Black Lagoon_, _Soul to Seoul_, _El El_, _7 Seeds_, or _Fairy Tail_. I'll try to update as regularly as possible, but college is kinda the priority right now… Yeah, yeah, I know. Deal with it._

_..._

Amy was finally starting to realize how inconvenient the Piko Piko Hammer was in close quarters. She had to swing it, there was no way to sneak up on enemies in long stretches of bare hallway, and those enemies were quite likely to have projectile weapons. Revy was especially nightmarish to encounter.

Which was probably why Amy was currently stuck pressed against a wall, listening around the corner as the gunwoman of doom grew steadily closer. Cream was hunkered beside her, eyes wide, and neither wanted to deal with Revy. Still if it had to be someone… Amy stuck a mirror around the wall, only to have several bullets absorb into the tag shield.

Grimm whistled. "_Bie~en, Mademoiselle._"

"Gracias," Revy smirked. She wasn't more than ten feet away.

"I think you meant 'merci'."

"I know what I said, kid."

Amy leaped for the opposite wall, ricoché'd toward the ceiling above Revy, and just saw her surprised face before bringing down her mallet before swinging at Grimm. It was a combination of Aubrey and Sonic's moves, but it had worked. She and Cream shot down the hall, and made it behind another corner before Revy recovered.

Cursing all the way. "GET BACK HERE!"

"I'll cover you," Amy whispered to Cream, who nodded hesitantly. 3, 2, 1, and Amy jumped into the corridor, hammer out to deflect the bullets. The impact was terrifying, and Revy was charging as she fired. If Cream didn't finish charging her blast, the gunners would be right on top of them…!

Cream made her move, was hit solidly in the shoulder, and dropped the Spirit Wave.

Which promptly detonated, with Amy's body shielding the targets. Revy's laughter didn't make things any better, but it was incentive enough for Amy to force herself to stand and glare. She was lucky that the hit had diminished the blast; she could barely feel the sting on her back.

"Round two," she glared.

Revy and Grimm smiled like a pair of wolves, even though Revy looked ten times scarier. What had she attributed that to? Experience? Bloodlust? Combat junkie?

Amy shook her head, forcing herself to focus. Revy was now aiming over her shoulder, at Cream? No, Cream was-

"Ikorosu, Shinso." A flash of light shot over Amy's head, and Revy had barely ducked before it withdrew. That was Gin, then—

"Cero."

A flash of green behind Revy and Grimm, and only Revy was standing after it. Somehow.

"Fuck it, Ulquiorra," Grimm growled.

"You two okay?" Gin smiled.

"I'm fine." Amy was a little miffed regarding the rescue, but… "Cream may need some help, though." The little rabbit was unconscious, a red mark showing where the bullet had smacked her shoulder. "Revy hit her while she was charging a Spirit Wave."

Gin whistled. "Then I'll grab Two Hand. Ulquiorra, wouldya mind takin' Grimm into jail?"

Ulquiorra shrugged, and picked up his classmate by the back of his shirt.

"LEMME GO!" Grimm howled. "Didja hear me, Emo boy? LEMME GO! ZUT ALORS, MERDE! _TU ES UNE MOUFETTE, COMPRENES-TU?_ _**UNE MOUFETTE!**_"

Ulquiorra made no response as he dodged Revy's light bullets, and then more bullets from Domon. Who had brought Momo and Tanaka with him.

Gin moved to fight Momo, who looked less than thrilled at the thought. She fought against him all the same, and Amy was quick to go after Tanaka.

Who knew that he couldn't take her, but took up a position to fight, anyway.

The sides were surprisingly even, and soon it became clear that they'd have to regroup. Amy had wound up fighting Revy when the call was made, and it was only at the last second that she saw Cream tucked under Tanaka's arm.

"CREAM!" Amy lunged after them, only to be grabbed by Gin. "LET ME GO!"

"We can have prisoner negotiations later," Ulquiorra said as he motioned a now unconscious Grimm. The blue-head was quickly bound and tossed over Ulquiorra's shoulder like a bag of rice, and Amy reluctantly went with the two college guys. They checked around corners, Gin watched their backs, and soon they were returning to Home Base. Grimm was just waking up as they finished hogtying him to a column.

"QU' EST-CE C'EST?" he roared, before ranting in French that Amy couldn't follow.

"Basically, he asked 'what is this?' before diving into a sea of cursing," Rain explained.

"I got that much… And 'moufette' means 'skunk,' right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Ulquiorra, why'd he call you a skunk earlier?"

Ulquiorra shrugged before turning to go.

"It's a major French insult to be called an animal," Rain explained.

"HEY!"

Grimm, meanwhile, was still throwing a tantrum. Amy whacked him on the head again, and that was that.

"Where's Cream-chan?" Orihime asked.

Amy growled under her breath. "They got her in the confusion, and we've gotta save her. I can't believe they—"

"Hey, hey," Gin broke in with a placating smile. "It's not that bad…"

"Yes it is!" Amy exclaimed, not in the mood to waste time—

"It ain't like they're gonna hurt her," Gin continued. "If anythin', they'll prob'ly heal her. It's just trainin', remember?"

"What if it _wasn't_ training?" Amy shot back. "What if this was real life, and the Gorgons were the ones who'd taken her? We've already lost too many fighters to make this mistake on the battle field!"

The battle field was what they were training for.

"Right," Gin sighed. "But for now, can we plan for overrunning the other _team's_ base?"

"Before they overrun _ours_?" Ulquiorra snarked. He was already firing Ceros at Revy.

...

Amy growled low in her throat, less than happy with the situation. Thanks to Shara and Gretel, they'd lost Ulquiorra and Duo behind enemy lines. That left their side with her, Gin, Kousei, Kurama, Rain, and Orihime. If they hadn't taken Grimm, Domon, Revy, Lucy, Taro, Tanaka, and Sunil captive… They'd be more boned than Revy had assured them they were. That was after she had assaulted Grimm with gay jokes.

"So you _like_ being tied to a big stone pole?"

"Non! Non! Non!"

"So that's Spanish for 'yes'? Y'know that's the language 'a sex, right?"

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NO, YOU ABSOLUTE—mmph?"

"There goes yer mouth pleasure," Revy smirked. Until she, like Grimm, had her mouth duct taped by Rain. It was the best piece of news they'd had in awhile.

"So Genkai, Chuck, and Momo are guarding the prisoners," Kurama sighed, "and Shara and Gretel should be arriving there with Ulquiorra and Duo. Now we need the location of Rouge, so that we can properly plan for…"

Gin was pointing down the hall from his post by the door.

"The next stage of the operation." Kurama continued talking, cupping an ear and pointing in Rouge's supposed direction. "I'm not sure if we can take the base without that."

Gin shrugged in response to the signed question ("Can she hear us?") and raised three fingers. Rouge was three paths down the hall, about forty feet here in the fourth floor storage area.

"However, knowing Genkai…" Kurama nodded. Even with the door closed, Rouge could probably hear them. They were just lucky that the prisoners couldn't see the silent movements and alert her. "Why are you drawing your blade?"

"I'm bored," Gin shrugged in case Rouge had heard the slide of metal. He was watching in the mirror for Rouge to look around the corner again, flexing his power. He was preparing for a Flash Step, something they'd just learned.

"If you're _bored_, Amy glared, "maybe you can help us _plan_?"

"Gomen," Gin smirked, right before he vanished down the hall. "Ō-hayō," Rouge-san."

They weren't supposed to hear gunshots. Amy bolted for the door, and barely had time to check the mirror before Gretel came into view. With her giant gun. "Gin!" Amy barked as she blocked bullets. "You okay?"

"Yep," Gin called. He'd ducked around a corner between the door and the opponents, putting him at twenty-five feet away. Dangerously close to Gretel.

Who stepped on one of Kurama's dangerously thin vines, judging from the giant flytrap dropping down to grab her. The girl shrieked, and ducked back behind Rouge.

"How many?" Kurama called.

"Just two," Gin called back, before Flash Stepping again. Both opponents shrieked, and dodged the extending blades, only to run into Kousei. Who managed to knock Gretel out, only for Rouge to grab the both of them.

"Adios," Rouge called.

She ran into another fly trap.

...

"Just because they only have four left," Kurama sighed, "doesn't mean that we can take them any less seriously. We're to the point that leaving Base under guarded will be a disaster." Everyone nodded, including Gin from the doorway. "For an assault, we'll need Amy-san and Gin-san; I don't want to gamble half of our remaining forces, so I'll leave it up to Kousei-san whether or not he wants to go or stay on as reserves."

"I'm game to go," the boy said.

Kurama smiled and nodded. "There are two possibilities regarding our opponents; their sending their own group to attack, or counting on our attacking them. Given their current numbers, I'll assume it's the latter. All the same, be on guard and ready for hostiles—and their traps—at all times."

As if navigating Kurama's _own_ vegetable garden hadn't been hard enough. Amy slid her mirror around a corner, scanning every surface before giving the all-clear. It was slow-going, and hadn't done them a bit of good when Momo gave an alert. Or when Shara had dropped out of nowhere, or Genkai started firing from within their base. Or even when Chuck pulled out the "Spud Gun from Hell."

"Rock on for watching _Whale Wars_," Aubrey announced from the All-Call.

Stupid incessancy on kitchen duty…

"Eep!"

Amy spun to see Momo, owner of the squeak, being downed by Kousei and karate an eleven year old shouldn't have known.

Shara moved to cover her teammate, but Amy blocked with her hammer.

Genkai knocked Gin aside effortlessly, and was in Kousei's face in an instant. Both of Amy's teammates hit the walls, instantly unconscious.

In the immortal dialect of Revy, Amy was suddenly in some _serious_ crap.

She ducked around, trying to keep all four in her range of vision. Momo was unconscious, but Shara was making her task impossible. Chuck kept a level bead on her from the doorway, and Amy knew that she had only one shot.

She ducked under Shara's punch, and feinted toward Gin. When Genkai intercepted, Amy dodged back over Shara, and made straight for Chuck. She hit a homerun on his "spud," and then it was easy to duck past and try to get to her captured teammates…

Who weren't in this room.

"Why do they always pick the room with guards?" Genkai mused from the doorway. Amy spun on her heel, in no way fast enough to dodge the woman's attack.

Kousei slapped Genkai's back, and she teetered heavily before finally hitting the ground. Before she did, Gin slapped another seed onto Shara.

"Kurama's, I take it?" Genkai sighed.

"They'll just paralyze you," Gin smirked back.

To Chuck's credit, he went down firing. From there, it was a simple matter of finding their captured teammates and announcing victory on the All-Call.

"Excellent," Kurama replied warmly, Orihime and Rain's cheers just audible in the background. The "just" part was thanks to a fair amount of cursing from Revy and Grimm.

"Well it was thanks to yer plants," Gin replied. "Kousei and I'd be down fer the count, otherwise."

"Well you'd all better get your butts to the dining room," Aubrey announced. "Or else you'll get no lunch."

Amy didn't know which was worse. The fact that Aubrey had mashed that many potatoes… or the fact that after lunch…

They were doing this, again.

"This time," Revy grinned, "I'm slaughterin' the lotta ya." She made a special point of poking Amy, who was closer than Gin. "Especially. You."

"We'll see," Amy smirked.

"Indeed," Aubrey nodded. "After all, we'll be changing the teams around."

"WHAT?"

"But, hey, you guys do get a break after this."

"YES!" Lucy cried. And simmered down when she got some funny looks. "… There was a book I wanted to finish reading…"

...

Amy gathered her strength and clutched the door frame all the harder before finally surrendering its support. It was another three deep breaths and a reminder of her purpose before she finally took a step forward. And another, and another. It was all too soon before she reached her destination, and those who were waiting.

Though they were supposed to just be sleeping inside the stone, Amy couldn't help but feel their anticipation to escape, to be free to continue their lives. It may well have been her own hopes for them—and for herself—that she was projecting onto them, but it was a feeling that she couldn't shake. The rows of statues stretched on and on, covering floor after floor. Victims of Gorgon Stonework, from Station Square and New York City, men and women and children and animals indiscriminately. No wildlife, though. Their instincts had guided them away and to safety.

And, on this particular floor, were those at the top of the list: friends and family of Silva Lunae's inhabitants. They—more specifically, the Thorndykes—were the cause of Amy's visitation. Anything else, other than Restoration, and Amy probably wouldn't be down here.

It wasn't long before she found them—Ella, Chris, and his parents. Mr. Thorndyke had been found Downtown in a slight crouch, arms spread wide. Amy prayed that whomever he had been protecting had made it out safely. The least they had been able to do was reunite him with his family. Beside him, his wife and son were propped up against each other, otherwise unable to stand as they stretched forward in desperation.

Amy shuddered, trying not to picture the scene that Chuck had described, of the Gorgons holding them apart. The tears, frozen onto screaming faces, were of no help. She clenched her fists and tried to find her anger, anything to stem the sadness that would only lead to still more tears…

And found her eyes moisten when she turned to Ella. Ella, who still stood tall and defiant in the face of her mocking enemy, as long as she was between them and her family…

Even by sacrificing herself, she was still joined by her patrons. Amy slumped to the floor, wishing and longing and… And…

She would not cry. What if someone came down here and saw her, one of the leaders, bawling like a child? She _couldn't_ be a child, not now, and she couldn't act like one, either. She crossed her legs into the meditation position Aubrey had showed her, and took deep, slow, breaths. Focused inward, beyond the pain and anger; searched out her spark.

Soon her conscious had spread outward, touching the faint sparks of life within the statues themselves. She could feel them, pulsing barely but regularly, and was just feeling comfort in their glow when she hit something far too bright.

Someone else was down here.

Amy frowned, and collected herself before seeking out the person. It was one of their own; she could sense that much now, but she was far too new at this to know who. Who else was visiting their loved ones..?

Amy threaded along the statues, almost silent in her moccasin-soled boots, and remembered that the _almost_ could get her killed. But she didn't dare focus on her noise level in here, not with so many statues surrounding her, even if the victims were sealed in their own barriers; and she made a point of not startling the other visitor.

She came out a few statues to the person's right, and was automatically surprised to see Gin.

No, correction: Gin not smiling, with his eyes open. Brilliant aquamarine eyes, to boot, and looking straight forward at the statue of a truly beautiful young woman. Like Ella, she was staring her opponent down with clear defiance, and absolute fire that had somehow been transferred into stone. Gin was looking at her, hands in his pockets and face absolutely not in a smile, with an expression almost—no definitely—regret.

Amy remembered to breathe, and Gin instantly saw her. His eyes were intense enough that she actually had to remind herself that he was a comrade, but the gaze was almost instantly replaced with that familiar eyes-closed grin. "Hey, Amy-san."

Which Amy could finally see was an act. But instead of calling attention to it, her curiosity got the better of her. "Hey, Gin. …Who is she?"

Gin sighed, and his smile softened when he glanced her way. "Rangiku, my old friend. Never really expected to see her again."

"I'm sorry."

"Huh? Why'd I be mad ta get ta see her?" He sounded almost hurt.

"No-no! I-I mean…" Then she saw the smile widening. "You just _love_ to play with people, don't you?"

"Nothing wrong with that," Aubrey beamed, startling the both of them. "C'mon kiddies, we're switching teams up."

"Now how many times are ya gonna sneak up on li'l old me?" Gin smiled.

"_Plenty_," Shara said dryly, from right behind him. According to Aubrey's sniggers, their reactions were hilarious.

...

The teams. They were even worse than before, because now…

She was with Shara, which was good. She also had Chuck and Tanaka, and was still with Cream and Orihime. She also still had Ulquiorra and Heero… And had gained Revy. Even having the bright smiling faces of Lucy, Topaz, and Gretel was no consolation. Not when…

The opponents consisted of Rouge, Gin, Genkai, Kousei, Rain, Grimm, Momo, Domon, Duo, Sunil, Taro… and Aubrey. Yes, Aubrey.

"So, our medics," Shara said.

"Orihime was an awesome medic," Amy volunteered. "And her shield was beyond useful."

"I-I…" Orihime blushed under the praise. "Arigato…"

"So will you be medic, again?" Shara asked, perhaps sensing something that Amy hadn't.

"I-if that's where you want me to be!"

"Is that where _you_ want to be?"

Orihime's eyes opened wide, and her blush grew only worse. "No, no, it's wherever you think I'd be best suited…"

"This is getting nowhere fast," Revy muttered.

"Go-gomen—" Orihime murmured.

"Cream," Genkai said to startle the lot of them.

"Ye-yes?"

"You have promise as a healer. If you're up to it, you and I can be medics this round."

Genkai, Grumpy Grandma Genkai, giving a straight compliment? Holy cheese!

"Ye-yes, ma'am!" Cream squeaked. "I was captured first, last time, anyway…"

"That's not the point," Amy told her. Really, she was glad that Cream could be a healer. The last thing she wanted was to see _Cream_ of all people hurting anyone, even the Gorgons.

"And I shall serve as a guard," Chuck volunteered.

"After the Spud Grunt?" Grimm smirked. "This outta be rich."

"It worked well enough last time," Genkai and Shara consented simultaneously.

"So now for the attack," Revy said. "Gin and Grimm'll be on the front lines, no doubt. And then there's Aubrey, who's in a class all 'er own. Last time, she didn't help her own team so much as attack us."

Shara nodded. "The groups will each need at least one heavy hitter capable of fighting her. While she won't intentionally injure any of us…" She'd take almost anyone captive with relative ease. She'd been responsible for half of her team's prisoner take last time, and still found time to make lunch.

"I've been fighting her almost constantly," Amy ventured, "so I'm fairly sure that I can take her on. I know Shara can, but who else would be up to it?"

"I am," Genkai said, "which is why I'll be staying to protect our base. Ulquiorra could, if he was more experienced. Revy was caught last time, but she's a pretty good bet. Same for Gretel."

And so they went, going through a list of opponents as they set up attack groups. Eventually, Amy was slotted with Tanaka and Gretel.

...

"Ikorosu, Shinsō."

Amy blocked the blow, and Gretel was already firing. Kousei was going after Tanaka… And Momo was sneaking up on Gretel. Amy charged the girl as the long-range fighters squared off… and Amy wasn't sure which of them was scarier. Gretel clearly (somehow) had an inordinate level of experience—especially with corridors, and Gin… Gin was taking to this far too easily for a civilian. There was clearly a reason for Momo to be nervous of him.

"CERO!"

Amy knew the voice before Gretel ducked a red beam of energy. Sure enough, Grimm was charging down the hall… With Domon and Duo. Crap.

"You guys up to this?" Amy called to her teammates.

"Absolutely," Gretel called.

"Hai!" Tanaka shouted as he pinned Kousei. And squeezed a pressure point, which instantly put the boy out cold. Unfortunately, that was when Domon shot him with a light bullet. And Gretel hit Domon, and Duo got the jump on Gretel, and Grimm came out of nowhere to attack Amy…

And Amy finally shot another bolt of energy from her hammer.

...

"Focus inward," Aubrey directed. Amy exhaled slowly, again finding her spark. "Try to remember the feeling of it; what you felt, how the energy felt." Amy thought back to the scuffle, the sudden double-team, the immediate threat of Grimm. Energy flowing from her to the hammer almost on instinct, and being swung forward to lash out at her opponent. Her inability to access it afterward, even as Gin charged her and Shara's team came running…

"You're drifting, Amy."

"Ha-hai…" Amy sighed, and failed to focus. She looked up to the witch sitting across from her, in the same meditation position, only with her thumbs and pinkies joined where her palms rested on her knees. Aubrey was watching her with calm, alert blue eyes, infinite behind the glasses. "I don't know, I just…"

"I know. But that is an incredibly useful power should you grasp it."

"Hai…"

"What was going through your head at the time?"

"Grimm was about to nail me and I had to fight back. I was just going to swing the hammer, though, not…"

"But it was a reflex to fight?"

"Yeah…"

"Do you remember the first time you used it?"

"Yeah, it was in a fight with you. I blocked your mallet, but got pinned and needed a way out. But when I got pinned again a second later, I couldn't use it."

"What were you thinking?"

"'Blast Aubrey,' I guess."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah; I was sure I'd just get another blast after the first one…"

"Yeah, well, it doesn't work that way. Do you think 'hit' and your hammer hits something?"

"No," Amy scoffed. "I've gotta swing it."

"Yes, and know how to."

"So how do I swing my aura?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out. C'mon, let's go see Genkai and Cream."

Amy stood and followed Aubrey from the courtyard, back into the halls that had constituted most of their battleground (they'd lost, by the way). It was a short walk to the room Genkai had appropriated, where she was lecturing Cream on the basics of healing with Reiki.

"Amy!" Cream gasped. "How'd it go?"

"Fail," Amy sighed.

"So what, Aubrey wants you to watch us, now?" Genkai asked sarcastically.

"Yep," Aubrey beamed.

"You know I was being sarcastic, right?"

"Yep."

"Fine."

...

By dinner, Amy still hadn't fired another blast. On the plus side, she at least understood in full what she was trying to do. Pretty much the opposite of Cream, who was trying to project her aura into a patient and heal them from within. Amy was trying to hurt her opponent with a solid hit of aura, which was actually supposed to be easier.

So then why was Cream getting her powers down faster than Amy?

"Wait, you took down _Gin_?" Lucy gasped.

Oh, right. Amy turned to see Lucy, Momo, and Orihime walking along behind them. Momo had clearly been recounting the story, given Orihime's blush. It had been something, all right. After Amy had blasted Grimm back, Gin had charged her… and Orihime had countered with her triangle shield and fired her slicer! Gin hadn't known what had hit him! Probably because the hit had given him a concussion, which only made it better.

Amy had been a fair bit surprised at how much _younger_ Gin and Kousei had looked unconscious. Without the creepy grin on one and the intensity of the other's eyes, it was like they'd both lost five years. Easily. Unlike Grimm, who had continued to look like an evil teenager.

Momo was still talking about the fight, and it was clear from the look Lucy gave Amy that she'd already mentioned the energy blast.

"Hi, everyone," Cream smiled.

"Hey," Lucy beamed. "How was healing class?"

"Go-good… Miss Genkai's an amazing teacher…"

"And Cream's an amazing student," Amy winked. "Better than me…"

"Huh?" Momo asked. "But after that blast you fired at Grimm…"

"I still can't do another one," Amy conceded. "They only come when I start operating on instinct, and even then only when I really need it. Like when Grimm's caught me by surprise, or Aubrey's got me pinned…"

"Energy blasts ain't that hard," Grimm scoffed as he walked past, clearly happy with his team's victory.

"So why didn't you fire one after Amy's?" Lucy smirked.

"I—"

"Wasn't Grimm-kun knocked out cold?" Orihime asked completely innocently.

"I—"

"Oh, that's _right_," Lucy pondered… "That _would_ make it hard to fire a Cero, wouldn't it?"

"I'm right here!" Grimm cried.

"We know," Lucy and Orihime beamed, one innocent and one not.

Grimm glared at them all dinner long.

...

"What a day," Lucy sighed. She leaned back into the curve of the bath's seat, stretching luxuriantly. "Can you believe what we're capable of, now?"

"No more than I can believe that Tobiume is the form of my soul," Momo sighed. And it was true. A spiky, energy blasting Japanese sword shouldn't have had much in common with a high school girl, especially one so tiny as Momo. "And Ichimaru-senpai with powers, yeek…"

"Your _senpai_?" Lucy asked.

"I _thought _he had a Japanese accent!" Rain exclaimed.

Momo sank into the water, less than happy with the information she had suddenly revealed.

"Well?" Sunil pressed. "Spill."

"Ichimaru-senpai… Well, he's in a grade above me, and he was actually Aizen-senpai's classmate and good friend. They went off to college in America together, at Station Square University…"

"And?" Revy asked.

"I don't know that much about him, really," Momo confessed. She looked like she wanted to say more, but held herself back.

"Then why does he bother you?" Amy asked.

Momo turned beet red, and stared. "He-he doesn't bother me…"

"Lie," Revy buzzed.

"He just creeps me out, okay?"

"True," Lucy shrugged.

"What about Rangiku?" Amy asked. From the stare Momo gave her, maybe she shouldn't have asked.

"Yo-you mean _Matsumoto_ Rangiku?" Momo breathed.

"I don't know," Amy replied. "Gin just called her Rangiku."

"When?"

"Earlier today… I was visiting a couple friends of mine… who were petrified… and he was down there, too. It was weird… his eyes were open, and he wasn't smiling—"

"Wait, what?"

"No way!"

"What color?"

And so Amy tried to explain the look on his face, the way he'd explained that Rangiku was an old friend, and the fact that his eyes were apparently _aquamarine_ of all colors (Revy instantly called him on contacts).

"They're childhood friends," Momo conceded. "Actually, Rangiku-senpai was his first friend when he moved from Kyoto. They were practically inseparable… until Ichimaru-senpai decided to go study in America."

"What's wrong with that?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know exactly, but it's just that he really gave her no warning. Or any of us, really. It was just out of the blue at graduation, 'Aizen-senpai, Ichimaru-senpai, and Tosen-senpai are going to college in America; sayonara.' She was just hurt that he hadn't told her or given her any warning, and he left so quickly… Apparently he hasn't kept in contact, either."

"Ouch," Lucy murmured.

"That would do it," Amy agreed. What had Gin said, _'Rangiku, my old friend. Never really expected to see her again.'_ He'd said it so casually, too, as if he hadn't known he'd hurt her.

"So, they weren't an item?" Lucy asked.

"There was some guessing…" Momo sighed. "But in the end it didn't look that way. Rangiku went on to a local college with a couple classmates, and was doing a required trip abroad."

"To Station Square in particular?" Sunil asked. "That's pretty convenient." In other words, too convenient.

"It was on the list, and Rangiku-senpai said it was less expensive than New York or Los Angeles. She made it sound like a chore."

"I guess we'll find out the truth sooner or later," Lucy shrugged.

"The truth about what?" Aubrey asked.

God, when had she—how had she—gotten there?

"Someone most of us haven't even met," Revy shrugged.

…It _was_ a little sad, wasn't it?

End of Chapter

_Hilarious in Hindsight: I had planned that scene with Gin and Rangiku for awhile, but didn't write it until I had read Bleach chapter 413. So much for the fangirls' hopes and dreams, yes? Anywhoo, I know that this seems like filler, but for this story I feel that I need to show the details. Otherwise the character development won't mean as much. Don't worry, next chapter will be better. I swear that I will make a much better job of torturing the characters, 'k?_

_PS: _Bleach_ chapter 416, NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Orihime get your arse over to Karakura, NOW._


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